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Validation therapy expert to speak at SUNY Upstate Alzheimer's conference June 9

SYRACUSE, N.Y.- Naomi S. Feil, an internationally recognized expert on Alzheimer's Disease, will deliver the keynote address at SUNY Upstate Medical University's Alzheimer's 2005 conference June 9. The conference runs from 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. at Justin's Grill and Conference Center, 6400 Yorktown Circle, East Syracuse.

Feil, executive director of the Validation Training Institute and author of The Validation Breakthrough: Simple Techniques for Communicating with People with Alzheimer's-type Dementia (Health Professions Press, 2002) will lead a validation therapy workshop designed to teach communication and acceptance.

Validation therapy helps those who are disoriented in the later stages of life by attempting to understand the emotions the patient is expressing. The therapy seeks to enable caregivers to respond to patients in a way that allows patients to express their emotions freely. Elderly people who are struggling to resolve issues before they die retreat into the past and are often brought closer to reality and security by the validation method. Validation therapy restores the patient's self-worth, reduces stress and anxiety and promotes communication and interaction with others.

The cost for health care professionals is $55; cost for caregivers is $45. To register, call 315-464-5167.

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