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Reminisce Interventions in Elderly People

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Encyclopedia of Geropsychology

Synonyms

Autobiographical memories; Episodic memory; life review

Definition

Reminiscence is the intentional or spontaneous process of retrieving episodes personally lived in the past. This retrieval of autobiographical memories may or may not have a logic or sequence in terms of the topics recalled. Understanding and evaluation are not an integral part of reminiscence, which tends to be highly spontaneous and mostly unstructured. On one hand, reminiscence can be regarded as a spontaneous phenomenon emerging in different settings, which forms part of many social and family events, providing people with the opportunity to relate episodes and/or tell their life history. On the other hand, especially in older adults, reminiscence can be used as a therapeutic intervention strategy in different fields, such as a prevention strategy for mental disorders or a way to promote mental health. Reminiscing past events can help a person feel more confident and self-assured when dealing with the...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Education, University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    Rosa Marina Afonso

  2. UNIFAI.ICBAS and CINTESIS, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Rosa Marina Afonso

  3. Department of Psychology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain

    Juan Pedro Serrano Selva & José Miguel Latorre Postigo

Authors
  1. Rosa Marina Afonso
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  2. Juan Pedro Serrano Selva
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  3. José Miguel Latorre Postigo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rosa Marina Afonso .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Nancy A. Pachana

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© 2016 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

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Afonso, R.M., Selva, J.P.S., Postigo, J.M.L. (2016). Reminisce Interventions in Elderly People. In: Pachana, N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geropsychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_260-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_260-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-080-3

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Reminisce Interventions in Elderly People
    Published:
    28 October 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_260-2

  2. Original

    Reminiscence
    Published:
    08 February 2016

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_260-1

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