My Journey into Dementia and End-of-Life Care

My journey into working with end-of-life and dementia care began when I first connected with a daughter whose mother had recently moved into a care home. Her mother, who was living with vascular dementia, needed round-the-clock support and was understandably reluctant to make the transition.

At that time, I was new to this field, but I quickly became deeply curious about the different approaches needed to care for people at the end of life, and especially for those living with dementia. This led me to train in Massage for Dementia with Nicole Mitchell, and later to continue my learning with Angela Halvorsen Bogo in Clowning in Dementia.

As I gained more experience working in care home environments, I also became an Active Ageing Trainer with the Royal Voluntary Service. In this role, I visited older people—often immobile or vulnerable—across Hackney, London, offering weekly gentle exercise to support wellbeing and connection.

Today, I bring together these skills and experiences to offer both massage and supportive practices for people living with dementia. I also work closely with families, helping them discover simple, hands-on, soothing ways of connecting with their loved ones.

If you are a care home, or an individual caring for a close friend or family member who might benefit from gentle exercise or dementia-focused massage, I would be delighted to hear from you.

You can find me on the directory of ADVANCED DEMENTIA INFORMED PRACTITIONERS - https://massagefordementia.co.uk/therapist-directory/

Testimonials

  • "My Mum has benefited immensly from Miranda's massage therapy. Its really clear to us that human touch is a powerful and healing thing for people with dementia. Mum suffers from acute anxiety and she manages to relax quite deeply during her massages. She is visibly less anxious and happier for some days after the treatment too. Miranda has been hugely adaptable and sensitive to the physical limitations of Mum's condition. She will massage her in her chair and only work on areas that are accessible on that occasion or, if Mum has the energy, she will move her with the help of carers. Miranda has a calming presence and Mum is relaxed in her presence. Miranda came with prior knowledge of dementia which has been reassuring to us. On occasions they have spoken about Mum's interests and past experiences and on others Mum has wanted to stay silent and even fallen asleep. Mum now has monthly massage treatments and they are building up a real rapport which has also helped Mum feel less lonely. Mum talks fondly of Miranda and will always brighten up when she is told that she has a massage session coming soon. We see these sessions as a form of therapy for Mum. Through the regular sessions have also learnt ways of helping Mum relax in-between her treatments. For instance, we now have an essential oil diffuser in her room and stress balls to help improve the gripping tendency which has left her hands tense and somewhat contorted. Miranda will also always feed back to us about how Mum has presented during a session. We feel so lucky to have found a treatment that helps Mum so much" ​

  • Thank you, Miranda, for your warm and caring treatment of ******* It has made such an enormous difference to her, she absolutely loves it, and I can see how it relaxes and calms her. How wonderful it would be If all elderly and very frail people could have this kind of soothing therapy at the end stage of life"