Key points
- Reminiscence therapy involves conversations about an older person’s past events and experiences. It is often done using photos and videos.
- When performed as a group, reminiscence therapy can foster friendships and a sense of belonging.
- Group reminiscence therapy appears to be effective in improving life satisfaction and decreasing the loneliness of people in residential aged care.
Reminiscence therapy is a form of talk therapy. It was originally developed for use with people living with dementia but is also being used to reduce experiences of social isolation in older adults. [1] It is defined as the process of thinking or telling someone or a group of people about past experiences that are personally significant. Exercising memory in this way is thought to stimulate mental activity while boosting positive feelings to create a sense of wellbeing. Reminiscence therapy can be conducted using photos, videos, or any objects from a particular period that might serve as tangible prompts to trigger nostalgic memories. [2] Reminiscence therapy is unstructured and therefore different to life review therapy which is based on chronological events in the person’s whole life span.
This evidence theme is a summary of one of the key topics identified by a scoping review of social isolation research. An evidence theme on reminiscence therapy for people with dementia is also available. If you need more specific or comprehensive information on this topic, try using the PubMed search below.
We found three reviews reporting on the effectiveness of reminiscence therapy. [1, 3-4] These found that weekly group therapy in residential care showed some benefits, including:
- Lessened feelings of loneliness, immediately and in the short term.
- Fostered friendships and a sense of belonging among the participants.
- Some improvement in life satisfaction and quality of life.
- Enhanced cognitive performance and sense of identity.
- Improved residential aged care staff communication with residents.
Findings were inconclusive on this therapy’s effectiveness in reducing depression and improving overall wellbeing. There were no reported benefits for anxiety and agitated behaviours. [2]
Reviewers noted concerns about how some studies were conducted. They found the effects to be small and often not reproduced across settings. The way the therapy was delivered was also variable which makes it hard to draw strong conclusions across multiple studies.
Reminiscence therapy might be used informally in aged care, by encouraging group conversations about the past. Staff might ask for photos or videos from family and friends of residents and use them to initiate conversations with the older person. Some topics for initiating conversations that most people can join in on include:
- Favourite holidays
- Childhood memories of the neighbourhood
- What games people played
- Food likes and dislikes
- Working life
- Supported sporting teams
- Hobbies and interests.
Organisations might support reminiscence therapy to improve outcomes for older people in aged care by:
- Providing opportunities for reminiscence therapy whether as part of a formal program or as part of everyday conversations with the older people in aged care.
- Consider creating a nostalgia space, fitted out with retro interiors, period furniture, and vintage objects such as wireless radios.
- Provide opportunities for staff training on reminiscence therapy.
- Woods B, Spector AE, Jones CA, Orrell M, Davies SP. Reminiscence therapy for dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2018;3(3):CD001120. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001120.pub3.
- O'Philbin L, Woods B, Farrell EM, Spector AE, Orrell M. Reminiscence therapy for dementia: An abridged Cochrane systematic review of the evidence from randomized controlled trials. Expert Rev Neurother. 2018;18(9):715-727. doi: 10.1080/14737175.2018.1509709.
- Mikkelsen ASB, Petersen S, Dragsted AC, Kristiansen M. Social interventions targeting social relations among older people at nursing homes: A qualitative synthesized systematic review. Inquiry. 2019;56:46958018823929. doi: 10.1177/0046958018823929.
- Franck L, Molyneux N, Parkinson L. Systematic review of interventions addressing social isolation and depression in aged care clients. Qual Life Res. 2016;25(6):1395-407.
- Chiang K-J, Chu H, Chang H-J, Chung M-H, Chen C-H, Chiou H-Y, et al. The effects of reminiscence therapy on psychological well-being, depression, and loneliness among the institutionalized aged. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2010;25(4):380-8. doi: 10.1002/gps.2350.
