I started The Daily Sparkle after a friend of mine became ill and went into a nursing home. When visiting him, I was distressed to see a rapid decline in my friend’s intelligence, energy and vitality, which I believed was strongly affected by an unstimulating environment. Almost immediately I left my job and began focusing on how I could create a stimulating, enjoyable and fun daily life experience for older people in care. I started working in care homes, presenting dynamic and lively activity sessions, which featured a variety of music, quizzes, exercises and singalongs, and during this time, I also studied Reminiscence Therapy with Bernie Arigho at the Reminiscence Centre in London.Following two successful years of hour-long activities, I started looking for ways to provide stimulation and enjoyment every day, as I felt our short activity sessions were simply not enough. I visited homes in Australia, New Zealand, America and Europe in this quest, and eventually came up with the idea of a daily reminiscence newspaper. I launched The Daily Sparkle in late 2009, and to date we have worked with over 6000 care homes, hospitals, community outreach programs and Memory Cafes. One of my main jobs is to continue to show the healthcare industry that this simple little resource can produce profound results. It has been integral in thousands of homes in helping introduce and ensure both person-centred care and a whole home approach. Using The Daily Sparkle as a fun way to open up conversations and build relationships is so easy that most staff will give it a go. There is even a selection of suggested questions that staff members can open up sessions with.I have trained as a Dementia Friends Champion with the Alzheimers Society, am currently working to create a Dementia Friendly Community in Totnes, and am a member of the South West Dementia Partnership Networ. My company has sponsored the Dementia Congress Awards for the past two years.

My work as a group psychotherapist specialising in positive psychology made me very aware of how we face challenges in our lives, and means I tend to focus on what people are capable of, helping them achieve their potential, rather than focusing on the limitations that constrain their potential. In working with people living with dementia this has helped me to concentrate on empowering and enabling individuals and produce resources that can remind them of their strengths.

Founded and managed The Leela Personal Development Centre from 1996 to 2008, and led psychotherapy and personal development trainings and workshops. The Leela Centre grew from an initial staff of three to 28 by the time I left. The aim of this centre was to help people through their self-imposed limitations and to achieve their potential, and the focus of the work at the Leela Centre was on positive psychology - i.e. not on treating illnesses and 'problems' but rather in helping normally functioning clients to become happier and more fulfilled as unique individuals. Special emphasis was given to how the client emotionally perceived their world. This work has led me to develop resources that have high emotionally positive content, thus supporting older people and people living with dementia to re-experience themselves as powerful and important adults.