An Introduction to Cognitive Stimulation Therapy
CST, or 'Cognitive Stimulation Therapy', is a brief treatment for people with mild to moderate dementia. 'Dementia' is an umbrella term, the two main types being Alzheimer's and Vascular dementia. CST was designed following extensive evaluation of research evidence, hence is an evidence-based treatment (1). UK Government NICE guidance (10) on the management of dementia recommend the use of group Cognitive Stimulation for people with mild to moderate dementia, irrespective of drug treatments received.
CST treatment involves 14 sessions of themed activities. They were originally designed to run twice a week over a seven week period. However, people often prefer to run groups once a week and offer a longer-term programme, which involves repeating sessions and offering new sessions as outlined in a new treatment manual (12). Sessions aim to actively stimulate and engage people with dementia, whilst providing an optimal learning environment and the social benefits of a group. The effects of CST appear to be of a comparable size to those reported with the currently available anti-dementia drugs. CST treatment can be administered by anyone working with people with dementia, such as care workers, Occupational Therapists or nurses. CST groups can take place in settings including residential homes, hospitals or day centres. Practitioners can learn to provide CST treatment for people with dementia by following the CST manual or attending CST training.
Notice
Please note that written CST materials which are subject to copyright must not be reproduced or distributed without the authors' prior written consent.
To avoid using material that is in draft form or has not yet been adequately evaluated, we recommend that you do not use any material related to CST unless it has been provided to you by Aimee Spector, Martin Orrell, Bob Woods or one of the UCL SHIELD team.
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