TimeSlips™ storytelling within an acute dementia ward: the value of being creative

TimeSlips is a method of creative storytelling developed by Anne Basting (1998). This approach is a person-centred model to support people with dementia to create imaginative stories using an image and open-ended questions. Two accredited facilitators in the TimeSlips method have been running weekly storytelling sessions at a purpose built acute dementia ward (Forest Centre) since May 2015. The ward provides treatment and person-centered care approaches for patients with early stage to complex dementia needs. Each session runs for 30 minutes and all contributions from the storytellers are included within the story. The TimeSlips methods of validating everyone’s responses, collaborative working with the storytellers and facilitating a space and time to be creative are employed in every session. A final read through of the story leads the storytellers to devise a title for the story and these are then typed and distributed to be shared with staff, patients and family members. The impact of the storytelling sessions has been noted through participant observations of the sessions and discussions with staff and patients. The storytellers have shown pride in their stories, showing these to their family and expressing their enjoyment at the end of sessions. Recall of the sessions has been observed with some storytellers, who remember the sessions week to week. For staff the sessions and stories are a way of seeing beyond the patient identity to the person living with the dementia, as a person’s humour, past experiences, wisdom and imagination become part of the story. Using TimeSlips has been a way of supporting the person-centred ethos of care at the Forest Centre, encouraging staff at all levels to engage in the sessions and to foster a creative and imaginative way of working with people with dementia.