Pati Bielak-Smithis a certified trainer of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) methods with the international Center for Nonviolent Communication. While studying NVC, she spent five years as a private caregiver for people with dementia. Pati has since trained caregivers and supportive family members to connect to people living with dementia and, as a Dementia Champion with the Alzheimer's Society, has facilitated dementia information sessions for the community. She has also worked as a meditation teacher and as a communication consultant. Pati is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and offers one-on-one therapy sessions online or in person through her private practice.
""Practical and humane, this book is recommended for anyone caring for or about a person with dementia."" --TIM BEANLAND, PhD, Head of Knowledge, Alzheimer's Society""A book that acts as a guide in the richest sense: lucid, compassionate, and illuminating."" --NICCI GERRARD, award-winning journalist and author of The Last Ocean: A Journey Through Memory and Forgetting""A new and fresh perspective on communication and connection. This book offers easy-to-follow steps we can all take to make a difference."" --DANUTA LIPIŃSKA, MA, National Dementia Care Award winner and author of Dementia, Sex and Wellbeing""Pati Bielak-Smith's emphasis on relationships and thinking about fulfilling everyone's needs can help caregivers and professionals develop healthier ways of working together and avoid the distress that can lead to burnout."" --DR. AVRIL DANCZAK, medical educator and lead author of Mapping Uncertainty in Medicine: What Do You Do When You Don't Know What to Do?""A vitally important and helpful book on an essential topic."" --PETER J. CONRADI, PhD, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and author of Iris Murdoch: A Life