Description

Weekend with Naomi Feil and Michael Verde presented by the Center for Compassionate Touch LLC

“Through education and building community ~ we create a bridge between ourselves and those living with Alzheimer’s disease.“ ~Ann Catlin, Center for Compassionate Touch LLC

Millions of Americans living with dementia experience profound loneliness due to social and emotional isolation.  This is the dis-ease of Alzheimer’s that we can do much to heal today.  As more and more people live with dementia, the urgency grows for us to strengthen our ability to communicate with and serve those with Alzheimer's and related dementias.

Part of our mission at the Center for Compassionate Touch, is to partner with kindred individuals, organizations and institutions to uplift the lives and the communities we serve. It is our pleasure to invite you to join us for a Weekend with Naomi Feil and Michael Verde.  This inspiring event will include:

• Friday evening cocktail reception
• 1-day workshop on the Principles of Validation* Communication with founder Naomi Feil M.S.W., A.C.S.W. CEs available for Massage Therapists, *Nurses, *Social workers and *Counselors. 
• Dinner Gala with keynote presentation, We Are the Bridges, by Michael Verde, Founder and Executive Director of the Memory Bridge.
• Sunday will conclude with a round-table featuring Naomi and Michael, exclusively for the Compassionate Touch® community.

Attendees will learn:

• Effective ways of communicating with those with dementia
• How to be an empathetic listener
• To identify the four phases of disorientation
• How to use Validation techniques
• How to build a trusting relationship with disoriented elders bringing them peace, connectedness and an improved quality of life.

And experience:

• The mutual benefits of Validation
• The joy of connecting with like minded caregivers

Validation* is a method of communicating with and helping disoriented very old people. It is a practical way of working that helps reduce stress, enhance dignity and increase happiness. Validation is built on an empathetic attitude and a holistic view of individuals. When one can "step into the shoes" of another human being and "see through their eyes," one can step into the world of disoriented very old people and understand the meaning of their sometimes bizarre behavior.

Click here to download a PDF of the flyer.

Click here for a 4 page PDF that gives lot more details!

Click here for a press release for the event [Word doc]

Click here for a press release for the event [PDF].

REGISTRATION:
The cost for the weekend is $149 for Compassionate Touch® Practitioners and Instructors and $199 for all other attendees.  Your registration fee includes 7-10 CE hours for massage therapists (may qualify for other healthcare professions) Friday evening reception and Saturday Dinner gala.  Bonus Sunday morning roundtable with Naomi and Michael for the Compassionate Touch® Practitioners and Instructors.

LODGING:
We have reserved a block of rooms at a special discounted rate of $99 for a 2-room suite with full hot breakfast! You can book your rooms at the Embassy Suites Downtown Cleveland, 1701 East 12th Street Cleveland, Ohio, by clicking on this link  The rate has now beeen extended until 7/25/11 but is filling up fast!

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:
Friday August 12
6:30pm-7:30pm Opening Cocktail Reception
Saturday August 13
9:00am-5:30pm Validation Workshop with Naomi Feil
7pm-9:30pm Dinner Gala with Keynote Michael Verde
Sunday August 14
9am-12pm Roundtable with Naomi and Michael~by invitation only

CE INFORMATION:

CE Objectives for 7 Contact Hours:

• Assess and expand an awareness of yourself and others
• Differentiate the phases of disorientation in older people
• Identify specific Validation helping techniques
• Formulate ways of preventing burn-out and ways of reaching a wise old age!

*Hospice of the Western Reserve (OLN-006-P) is approved as a provider of continuing nursing education by the Ohio Board of Nursing through the approver unit at the Ohio League of Nursing (OBN-006-92).7 contact hours

*Hospice of the Western Reserve is approved by the State of Ohio’s Counselor, Social Work and Marriage and Family Therapist Board to provide professional continuing education for social workers (RSX079403) and counselors (RC049701). 7 contact hours

Massage Therapy CEs provided by the Center for Compassionate Touch NCBTMB Approved Provider #324616-00 7-10 contact hours

About Naomi Feil:

Naomi Feil, M.S.W., A.C.S.W., is the developer of Validation. She was born in Munich in 1932, and grew up in the Montefiore Home for the Aged in Cleveland Ohio, where her father was the administrator and her mother, the head of the Social Service Department. After graduating with a Masters degree in Social Work from Columbia University in New York, she began working with the elderly. Between 1963 and 1980 Mrs. Feil developed Validation as a response to her dissatisfaction with traditional methods of working with the severely disoriented old-old people who were her clients. In 1982 she published her first book, Validation: The Feil Method, which was revised in 1992. Her second book, The Validation Breakthrough, was published in 1993, and updated and revised in 2002. Feil and her husband have made many films and videos about aging and Validation. Feil is the Executive Director of the Validation Training Institute and a popular speaker in North America and Europe. Since 1989 she has toured Europe 3 times a year offering workshops in Validation to participants in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, France, Belgium, Italy, Great Britain, and Austria. Her books have been translated into French, Dutch, German, Italian, Finnish, Danish, Swedish, Spanish and Japanese. Please visit her website.

About Michael Verde:

Michael Verde is the president of the Memory Bridge Foundation.  Since 2005, the award-winning Memory Bridge Initiative has connected over 2,500 students in Chicago with 2,5000 residents with dementia living in long-term care communities.  Michael is the executive producer of the PBS documentary, There Is a Bridge.  Michael has two masters degrees: one in literary studies from the University of Iowa, and one in theology from the University of Durham, England, from which he graduated at the top of his international class.  Michael is a gifted teacher, public speaker, and social entrepreneur.  He currently speaks across the country on the subjects of world religions, literature, and communicating with people with dementia. Please visit the Memory Bridge website.