{"id":8639,"date":"2019-08-01T17:00:51","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T16:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/?p=8639"},"modified":"2019-08-01T17:00:51","modified_gmt":"2019-08-01T16:00:51","slug":"thinking-ahead-how-talking-mats-can-support-difficult-conversations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/thinking-ahead-how-talking-mats-can-support-difficult-conversations\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking Ahead \u2013 How Talking Mats can support Difficult Conversations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rachel Woolcomb, our Talking Mats OT Associate, shares a recent personal experience where she used Talking Mats to support a difficult conversation:<\/p>\n

The vision of Talking Mats is to improve the lives of people with communications difficulties. I have been reflecting recently on the definition of \u2018communication difficulties.\u2019<\/p>\n

When I first heard about, and started to use Talking Mats 10 years ago, my perception was that it was fantastic for those that could not speak but I must admit I didn\u2019t really consider using it with people who, such as myself, could use their voice to communicate.<\/p>\n

Over the years as my understanding has developed, and I have looked further into the use of Talking Mats as a \u2018thinking tool\u2019 I have come to a different conclusion.<\/p>\n

I would like to suggest that at some points in our lives, each one of us is likely to experience a communication difficulty. I don\u2019t mean that we cannot physically speak, but that we cannot express what we really want to say in words. Perhaps a topic is too difficult to talk about with someone so we don\u2019t bother, or we are overwhelmed by the subject that we don\u2019t really know where to start.<\/p>\n

One such subject is that of death and dying.<\/p>\n

We know it will happen to us all one day but to talk openly with loved ones, is for some reason, too much to comprehend, too emotive, or considered bleak.<\/p>\n

I am very fortunate enough to have grandparents in their 90\u2019s however the conversation about their wishes for the future goes unspoken. It is a challenge for my parents to raise the issue therefore it remains the big unknown.<\/p>\n

This is a common problem. In 2009, The National Council for Palliative Care wanted to address this issue and set up the Dying Matters Coalition in England and Wales, to help people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement and to make plans for the end of life.<\/p>\n

Talking Mats have produced a set of topic cards called \u2018Thinking Ahead.\u2019 https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/product\/thinking-ahead\/<\/a><\/p>\n

These were created in consultation with Strathcarron hospice to help people with advanced illness or long term conditions to think ahead and plan for the future. The three topics in the set are: Affairs, Care and Treatment and Personal Values.<\/p>\n

My Mum was interested in my role with Talking Mats and wanted to understand what it was all about. We had already started to talk about the challenges of having difficult conversations, especially about death, and therefore over a drink, in a relaxed coffee shop, we embarked on a journey of discovery using a Talking Mat. My Mum as the Thinker and myself as the Listener .<\/p>\n

\"Rachel<\/a><\/p>\n

She used the Talking Mat to help her think about things she had not considered and was able to make plans about what she wanted to do next. I heard her wishes and her thoughts, on why certain things were important to her. It was a very special time, facilitated by a Talking Mat.<\/p>\n

My challenge to you as readers of this blog is to ask yourself \u2018what do I have difficulty talking about\u2019 \u2013 A Talking Mat just might be the answer!<\/p>\n

Another\u00a0resource you might find helpful is\u00a0‘Let\u2019s Talk about Death and Dying’ – \u00a0www.ageuk.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

Rachel will be running a ‘Talking Mats as a Thinking Tool’ workshop at our Talking Mats is 21 Event is in Stirling on Thursday 15th August 2019.<\/strong>\u00a0Dr Sally Boa from Strathcarron Hospice will also be running a ‘Talking Mats in End of Life Care’\u00a0workshop at this event.\u00a0<\/strong>Thanks to funding from NHS Forth Valley endowment committee the event is free but you do need to book your space https:\/\/www.eventbrite.co.uk\/e\/talking-mats-is-21-tickets-62362171935<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"21st<\/a><\/p>\n

You can come to the morning only, afternoon only or come for the whole day.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t come to our event watch out for out blogs and social media celebrating the reach of Talking Mats for 21 days before the 15th<\/sup> of August.\u00a0 Please join in with your contributions using the hashtag #TMis21. For 21 days after our event we will be having a special Birthday offer! Watch this space, more to follow \u2026\u2026.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rachel Woolcomb, our Talking Mats OT Associate, shares a recent personal experience where she used Talking Mats to support a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":8641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[90,8,55,34,64,54,72,17,27,10,69,21],"tags":[91,92,94,112,11,13,18,70],"class_list":["post-8639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advance-care-planning","category-blog","category-event","category-hospice","category-legal","category-talking-mats-principles","category-occupational-therapy","category-participation","category-person-centred-approach","category-personalisation","category-symbols","category-training","tag-advance-care-planning","tag-hospice","tag-person-centred","tag-thinking-tool","tag-personalisation","tag-talking-mats","tag-participation","tag-symbols"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThinking Ahead - Talking Mats and Difficult Conversations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rachel Woolcomb, Talking Mats OT Associate, uses Talking Mats to support a difficult conversation with the help of our 'Thinking Ahead' resource\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.talkingmats.com\/thinking-ahead-how-talking-mats-can-support-difficult-conversations\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thinking Ahead - 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