"Sacred Depths"

Last week I attended a special training session in a discipline for communicating with Alzheimer's/dementia patients called Sacred Depths. We were with a man named Stan Tomandl, who co authored the book "An Alzheimer's Surprise Party." We observed he, his wife, and one of our chaplains with a visit with a particular woman who is non verbal, who is very contracted, and who in most circumstances, remains in a state of sleeping and a disconnect with her surroundings. The chaplain got down by her feet, so she could maintain eye contact, which she called "Eye Communion." She sang Ps. 23, in a kind of Gregorian Chant, and Tomandl and his wife held her hands, but every movement they made, to communicate with her, they told her what they would do. Any movement that she did, they allowed her to take the lead, and responded to her, naming what she had done, e/g, telling her how strong she was, as they felt her grip, etc. As the patient held their hands, Ann said, "There you are!" and the patient looked up at her and smiled. Both the MSW and the Chaplain who have been working with her for months, had never seen her smile. It was a really beautiful process to watch, of honoring her, taking an attitude of humility, and taking the time to notice her movements, even eyes blinking, in a way that many alzheimers and dementia patients are often not given. And it was SOOOO AMAZING to see how she responded to them. If anyone is interested in reading some of his material, go to http://www.comacommunication.com./ He has also used these methods with coma patients, with great and often very profound results. I can now hardly wait to go visit some of my patients and try this out!! But can you all imagine how powerful it would be to be a person who is often ignored, spoken about; but not to; misunderstood, etc. to have people who take the time to communicate with them, to honor them, to observe their non verbal communication, etc? And to let them be actively involved and in fact leading the communication/interactions. . . It is so honoring. 80% of our communication is non verbal. We who are so dependent on just words, need to learn the language. This was pretty amazing to be a part of.

It confirmed to me a belief that I have held for a long time regarding Alzheimer's and Dementia patients, that as long as there is breath, there is Spirit, and thus we can communicate with them on a spiritual level, if we but learn the language in which to do so. I have seen patients who couldn't remember their families, who remember parts of The Lord's Prayer, or a hymn, or a scripture verse they had memorized years before. I have also believed that if you were to listen to the emotions underneath the words that don't make sense sequentially, you can glean tremendous insight into the spiritual states of the patients. If we speak to that condition, and name it for them, and then pray for that, we can help them to have some kind of peace in what can be a scary and lonely time for these beloved people.

What I witnessed last week with the complete humility, and respect shown to these patients, their taking the patient's lead was a powerful experience. To people who are often ignored with the assumption they don't understand; or having their daily routines established for them, people who are not willing to take the time to listen, observe, and really connect with them, this "Sacred Depths" way of communicating is a true gift.