Reminiscence Facilitators
Marian Ferguson
Marian lives in Belfast and has been involved with the Reminiscence Network as a member of the Board, trainer, project worker and finally as Manager. She developed reminiscence activities and the reminiscence loan box service in her previous role as Head of Education at the Ulster Museum.
Marian has facilitated projects with ethnic minority women, older men and intergenerational groups and has delivered courses in Guided Autobiography. She has delivered the Introduction to Reminiscence and Life Story Work course for several years and has developed bespoke training for several organisations. She is available for training and group reminiscence sessions. She aims to make her sessions, fun, informative and inclusive.
Email: marianferguson20@gmail.com
Deirdre Doherty
Deirdre Doherty Deirdre lives in the North West and has a background in design and communication. She has 13 years experience in community development and facilitation in arts and health, which has taken her into the field of creative reminiscence and life review.
Starting out as a tutor for the South West College, she has delivered a range of person-
centred programmes across all age groups and has extensive experience engaging participants with learning disability, dementia and mental health. From 2007 to 2017 she worked for RNNI as a reminiscence worker, project co-ordinator and training officer and was involved in the Network’s major projects including Sharing Memories Building Communities which focused on people with disabilities, Life in a Box - life story work with older men and Valuing Heritage by Valuing Memories, a heritage project which involved reminiscence activities in museums.
Katrina Lavery
Katrina Lavery Katrina lives in the Banbridge area and joined the Reminiscence Network in 2008 and has worked on Valuing Heritage by Valuing Memories, Remembering Yesterday Caring Today and Sharing Memories Building Communities projects. Throughout that time she has delivered bespoke sessions and programmes in creative reminiscence and life story work. She has worked with people aged from 4 to 104 and is always responsive to participants. Her programmes are adapted to meet the needs and abilities of participants ensuring a person centred approach for everyone. She has completed the MSc Module in Reminiscence and Life Story Work and uses this knowledge to design and deliver training and mentoring programmes. She has used her experience to develop The Best Practice Manual in Creative Reminiscence and Life Story Work.
Email: katrinalavery88@gmail.com
Audrey Lockhart
Audrey Lockhart Audrey lives in Holywood and has been involved in the Reminiscence Network since its formation. She is a registered social worker with experience of working with children, families and older people. She became convinced about the benefits of reminiscence and life story work when she managed residential and day resource facilities for older people. She saw how older people became re-energised through life story work as they became aware of their various skills and contributions to family and community life.
Audrey will be pleased to deliver training in Reminiscence, Life Story, Life Review and Oral History.
Email: lockhart440@btinternet.com
Tel: 028 9042 6825
Loretta Carty
Loretta Carty Loretta lives on the North Coast and is retired after a long career in the Public Service.
She has been a volunteer with RNNI for 5 years, after participating in a Life Story project, with her mother, who was attending a creative reminiscence workshop in a local daycare centre. She has completed many programmes as a volunteer, in various centres, in North Antrim, with groups of individuals of varying degrees of backgrounds and abilities.
She has also delivered a 6 week workshop on creative reminiscence, and as a trained facilitator, she has been part of the University of Ulster at Magee, Inspire D project. Its aim was to investigate the impact of specific reminiscence , and she made a significant contribution to this research, visiting individuals in their home, and working with their carers , unlocking,recording and collecting memories .
When the Sharing Memories, Building Communities Project was featured on BBC Northern Ireland, she appeared, with her mother, advocating the benefits of this programme. She has also presented her experiences as a volunteer with RNNI, to conferences and workshops.
Geraldine Gallagher
Geraldine Gallagher Geraldine lives near Belfast and was a graphic designer and photographer; she recently completed a Phd that investigated internalised trauma. Her research experience helped to create innovative methods to connect with older people, encouraging engagement, reminiscence and fun in her role as a reminiscence facilitator for RNNI.
Geraldine has a particular interest in older people with dementia. Her latest design is a portable audio-life story book which links personal songs to personal photographs to create a narrative, helping to trigger and maintain memory. Her skills include working with groups with a range of abilities and on a one to one basis. She also designs bespoke creative workshops and training programmes that focus on the individual’s needs and interests.
Recent training courses and creative workshops have been held with: Cruse, Stroke Association, Deaf & Blind, Sense, Age NI and The Northern Trust.
Email: gg.design29@gmail.com
Twitter: twitter.com/ggdesign29
Best Practice Manual
This best practice manual provides guidance for Creative Reminiscence and Life Story Work, based on the experience of the Reminiscence Facilitators work in Northern Ireland.