About the program
The Memory and Brain Health ProgramTM is an evidence-based psycho-educational memory intervention program aimed at community-dwelling, independent adults with mild to moderate memory problems related to acquired brain injury (ABI).
This program is an adaptation of the Baycrest Memory and Aging Program (www.baycrest.org/memory), a similar intervention for older adults with age-normal memory changes.
Development of the Memory and Brain Health ProgramTM was informed by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation Guidelines for Concussion/Mild Traumatic Brain Injury & Prolonged Symptoms, 3rd Edition (braininjuryguidelines.org). The program was developed in partnership with Dr. Deborah Tang, Natasha D’Souza, Dorothy Heidbuurt, Ruth Spencer, and Anna Cook at Mind Forward Brain Injury Services and Judith Gargaro at the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation. Funding for initial evaluation and publication of the program was provided by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation.
The goals of the Memory and Brain Health ProgramTM are to:
- provide education about memory, including how memory works and how it can be impacted by brain injury and lifestyle factors
- enable the implementation of healthy lifestyle behavior changes
- train participants to use evidence-based memory strategies in everyday situations
- provide a forum for peer support and normalization
- instill a sense of confidence and control over memory function
The program is divided up into twelve, 90-minute sessions. In our practice, we have presented the program in weekly sessions over 11 weeks, followed by a one month follow-up session. There are, of course, other formats in which the program could be presented, and the program materials are provided in such a way as to allow flexibility in structuring the sessions.
The program takes a primarily compensatory approach to addressing memory problems. That is, there is no explicit or implied attempt to retrain damaged memory systems. Instead, the focus is on acquiring practical strategies that take advantage of preserved cognitive systems to prevent or solve practical memory problems.
About the materials
The Memory and Brain Health Program™ kit contains everything a qualified facilitator needs to deliver the program, including a leader’s manual, a clinical guide, 15 participant workbooks, and access to digital downloads of presentation slides and program evaluation tools. The Memory and Brain Health Program™ participant workbooks are also available separately. One copy of the participant workbook is required for each participant in the Memory and Brain Health Program.
Qualified facilitators will have training and professional experience in a relevant area such as education, psychology, social work, occupational therapy, medicine, or nursing. They will have knowledge of brain injury-related cognitive and behaviour changes, health and lifestyle factors that affect memory, processes and theories of memory intervention and behaviour change, practice in leading the training activities, and skill in leading psychoeducational groups for persons with acquired brain injury.
