Group Training Options

Does Your Organization Want to Learn More?

As a part of our mission, Insight offers a variety of training options to businesses, school groups, service organizations, and faith communities regarding current topics in Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving. With our expertise in dementia care, IMCC also provides consulting services and specialty seminars for long-term care facilities and other professional groups serving older adults.

Popular Topics

Trainings can be fully customized; popular training topics are listed below:

Are They Doing That on Purpose? Understanding Behaviors
For those with dementia, sometimes the only form of communication provided is through behavior, both positive and negative. Come and learn strategies for dealing with difficult behaviors and how to work with them when it seems impossible!

Art of Activities and Engagement
How can you reconnect with someone with dementia? Keeping their current abilities in mind. Learn ways to keep your loved one engaged in personalized activities.

Brain Health as You Age
Learn more about age-related changes in memory and learning, and practices to keep your brain sharp! Learn what to expect, what’s “normal,” and when it’s time to seek a doctor’s input.

Dementia 101
Learn how to define dementia, distinguish the different types, and gain an understanding of the typical path of disease progression.

Dementia Friends Information Session
The one-hour session has activities that cover the five key messages everyone should know about dementia. This session is offered on behalf of Dementia Friends Virginia, a Dementia Friendly America initiative.

Diagnosis Dementia: Now What?
It can be quite a shock - or a sense of relief! - after diagnosis. Start to plan ahead while also adjusting to life with someone who has dementia.

Difficult Behaviors: What? Where? When? Why?
Behaviors do not define the person, they are just a product of the disease. If they had the ability, they would probably choose to act differently! We'll discuss tools to improve interactions, prevent, and solve behaviors.

Enhancing Communication with a Person with Dementia
Communication often becomes difficult as dementia progresses. Learn skills that can help ease the frustration and lead to successful interactions.

Meaningful Visits with Your Loved One in an Assisted Living or Memory Care Community
An interactive discussion for caregivers to share expertise on how a meaningful visit can foster more joy and connection with your loved one.

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in Older Adults
Our emotional, psychological, and social well-being are all part of our mental health. It influences how we think, feel, and act, as well as how we handle stress, interact with others, and make decisions. Join us to learn about mental health in minority communities and suicide prevention in older adults.

Normal Aging vs. Dementia
A discussion on changes that occur with age, warning signs of a memory problem, and what to do if someone you love is experiencing symptoms.

Nutrition For Older Adults
Food not only provides us with nutritional needs, but also brings us joy and pleasure. That can change as we age. From taste buds changing, dental health can be more challenging, arthritis can make food prep painful, and medications and mood disorders can steal our appetite. Let's learn some quick, easy and healthy ways to meet those needs.

Person-Centered Approach to Care
Learn ways to keep individuals active and engaged in personalized activities, such as Music & Memory or a Multi-Sensory Environment, and tips for making each day a little more personalized.

Purposeful Gifts for Your Loved One in an Assisted Living or Memory Care Community
Searching for the perfect gift for your loved one in a senior living community? This is an interactive demonstration where you will be able to touch and feel a variety of wonderful gift ideas for your loved one and learn how these purposeful gifts can foster more joy and connection during visits with your loved ones.

Taking Care of Yourself: Tips to Survive Caregiving
Learn more about the impact of caregiving, while also developing self-care, ways to deal with stress, and how to take care of yourself!

Tapping into the 5 Senses for Better Dementia Care
Understand how age and dementia affect a person’s sensory perception. Develop strategies to help the person with dementia have a positive care experience. Identify sensory activities appropriate for each sense impacted.

Understanding and Caring for a Person with Dementia
Discuss the different types of dementia, common behaviors, reasons for behaviors, and corresponding strategies to help effective communication.

Living Their Truth
It is important to recognize  with dementia that the person’s beliefs about reality are usually just as real to them as our reality is to us. When we build up this awareness of an individual’s ways of communicating, it not only helps us to find an effective response to a tricky question, it means we can also put plans in place to address the person’s needs.

Benefits of Adult Day Centers
Adult day care programs can provide caregivers with a needed break while giving older people a chance to socialize with their peers and alleviate the isolation and loneliness that many experience.

Specialty Class Offerings

Virtual Dementia Tour

(offered in-person only)

The Virtual Dementia Tour (VDT) is designed to help simulate the effects of dementia. A trained facilitator will guide participants outfitted with patented devices that alter their senses while they try to complete common everyday tasks and exercises. The Tour enables caregivers to experience for themselves the physical and mental challenges those with dementia face, and use the experience to provide better person-centered care.

Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Seminar

This is the required seminar for those pursuing a Certified Dementia Practitioner certification from the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners.

Insight offers the eight hour Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Seminar for $200 per person for groups of 10 to 20 people.

Best Friends™ Approach Training

Some topics include:

Creating a Dementia Friendly Company 
This staff training workshop will help care communities enhance the quality of their memory care programs and develop an effective, satisfied staff. Your Best Friends™ expert trainer will help staff understand how utilizing this training approach brings better outcomes and greater satisfaction for residents, families, and staff.

Putting the Active in Activities 
This interactive training demonstrates how to introduce more meaningful engagements into the day and create activities in the moment—because keeping persons active and engaged is good for the brain and body, reduces behaviors that are challenging to family and staff, and leads to greater happiness and well-being for all. Participants learn communication and conversation tips, how to use songs and musical tie-ins, how to personalize activities with residents’ individual life stories, and what to do in unprogrammed times, including evening activities.

Communication with Success 
This interactive workshop utilizes case studies, role play, and group discussion. Participants come away with practical, effective tips and techniques to take on the challenge of communicating more successfully with persons with dementia.

Hugs Are Better Than Drugs 
Non-pharmacological and therapeutic environments can reduce the need for psychotropic drugs. Learn how to help your team and families use the relationship-building Best Friends™ approach to turn frustration into satisfaction and failure into success.

Ready to Learn More?

Details

Dates & Times
Classes can be scheduled at your convenience!

Location
At your location OR Insight Memory Care Center in Fairfax or Sterling (directions). Virtual programs are also available!

Interested?
Please contact Melissa Long at 703-204-4664 x141 or melissa.long@insightmcc.org.

About the Trainer

Melissa Long, Director of Education and Support
Melissa is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine with a B.S. in Therapeutic Recreation and Leisure Studies and a minor in Health Studies. Melissa is a certified recreational therapist, certified dementia practitioner, and a Licensed BCAT® practitioner.  

Melissa has been providing care to older adults for 19+ years. She is also the recipient of the ATRA Frank L. Bastile Clinician of the Year 2016. She has presented at numerous conferences and has published evidence-based practice programing.  

She has had the opportunity to live in Romania and provide sensory integration for orphans. She also held the position of Social Coordinator for participants in the Cerebral Palsy - International Sports and Recreation Association (CP- ISRA) World Championship. Through Melissa’s experience both clinically and in the community, she brings and provides out of the box thinking and support to both clients and caregivers daily.