Whoop! Whoop Exciting News! I’m thrilled to have been named a finalist in the Federation of Holistic Therapists (FHT) Excellence Awards 2025 in the Innovation category.

“I have had you with me through those tougher moments as remembering our sessions continues to offer soothing and grounding.”

As verbal communication fades, touch becomes even more important—it becomes a bridge. A way to say “I’m here” without needing words.

A personal exploration of how senses can be affected by dementia and how touch is a language that is still understood.

Read Nicolle’s expanded version of a previous blog now published in the FHT’s International Therapist Spring 2025 issue on how her mother’s influence led to her journey into a specialism igniting a passion to spread dementia awareness in the complementary therapy industry.

Why Massage Therapy Is Essential for Trans and Nonbinary People Living with Dementia

Imagine then, oh horror of horrors … the car crash of shame!

Yesterday each different brush whispered a memory on the contours of your canvas …. unlocking the confidence and beauty that you had inside anyway but shone more brightly through the charmed lenses of “Sunset Bronze” and “Honey”.

As a single parent of four mum certainly had a lot on her plate and very little support it being the late 1970s and all. In fact, she was spurned by neighbours, supposed friends and some family for not staying committed to a loveless marriage and an alcoholic husband.

“But it’s not about stuff!” they said, “it’s about the people, the human connection and being there.”

I’d just finished visiting mum after a particularly difficult family meeting which was mediated by a care lead of mum’s residential home.

Nicolle Mitchell explores the ethics of touch, consent and boundaries as a modern therapist

The strung out and overworked carers around him and the duty nurse Steve were all on high alert.

Ian usually enjoyed his massage each week and would happily sit while I smoothed away tension he held in his upper back.

Doris sits in her wheelchair by the edge of the dining tables, a busy thoroughfare, grasping at people as they walk by her, each one swerving, avoiding her grabbing hands. Each one another painful rejection.

It’s 7am on a December morning. I’m checking messages across all my media. This is my best quiet admin time.

How a lack of autonomy & agency impact health for a person living with dementia…

We’ve all experienced that feeling…

Recently, I’ve been thinking more about time and the pressure we are under to fit everything in…

Don’t you just love it when you hit it off with someone and are completely on the same page.

When mum was first diagnosed with dementia, she had also been living with a diagnosis of depression.

It’s not surprising mum didn’t sleep well. In my teens, I would often come downstairs to start breakfast and find her asleep on the couch. She would often fall asleep there with a duvet pulled over her having watched TV until the white dot blinked into blackness.

Although dementia continues to touch more lives, the growth of the number of people who live with dementia slowed in recent years and this in part has been linked to better lifestyle choices; “what’s good for your heart is good for your head”.

Oxytocin is our love & wellbeing hormone; our “tend & befriend” hormone which calms & connects us & helps us build trust with others. It supports our immune system & helps regulate more volatile emotions.

Being diagnosed with any serious illness can be traumatic, and dementia is no exception.

Many people have said you should never disagree with people living with dementia.

“If at first ……. the spanner doesn’t work, then try the pliers … and if the pliers don’t work try something else, including going back to the spanner.”

Trauma bit me on the bum! I thought I went into adoption with less naivete than many, having co-deputized as a manager in a children’s home in the 1990s, I helped create a nurturing environment for children who had experienced a very rocky start in life. We based our care practice on play therapy which […]

Good – Gooood – Goooood – Good Hydration ….. One of the more frustrating aspects of caring for someone who has dementia is ensuring they keep well hydrated. It can seem like a 24 hour job just trying to keep our loved one well watered. Signs of dehydration are: Dry skin Constipation Headaches Postural hypotension […]

Green Policy I don’t have a written policy as such, more that I try to be conscious of the impact on our environment & have been since I established my practice in 1998. I have been passionate about our planet & sustaining it for most of my life. One of the reasons I chose to […]