Alzheimers Therapists in New Bedford, MA

Reminiscence Therapy, Relational Cultural Theory, and Expressive Therapies are implemented to assist individual in maintaining connection and reducing withdrawal during the progression of Alzheimer's and other related dementias.

Though I haven't yet worked with any Alzheimers clients, I have worked with some Parkinson's subjects as well as other neurological problems. Hypnosis has been shown to be effective in helping with Parkinson's tremors as well as other aspects of the condition including depression. I was asked if I could help someone suffering from a condition called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, which is related to ALS or Lou Gehrigs disease. It is a condition with no cure or treatment. When I first met the client, he had been deteriorating for 12 years and was expected to die soon. He was confined to a wheelchair and could no longer speak. He drooled constantly and though wearing a bib, already in the morning was soaked with saliva. He suffered from tremors and got locked in repetitive movements several times a day, had trouble sleeping and couldn't get motivated to do his physical therapy, the only thing his doctors could offer him. In our first session, we were able to eliminate the tremors and repetitive movements, get him to sleep more soundly, and motivate him to do his PT. After the second session he was able to speak for the first time in ears and he got out of his wheelchair and walked. After 5 sessions you couldn't even tel he was sick and now, 6 years later, he's till walking the dog, gardening, hiking his favorite trails.

New Bedford is a southeastern Massachusetts city with one of the most distinctive identities of any American city of its size—Herman Melville's Moby-Dick opens here, and the city was once the richest per capita in America thanks to its whaling industry—now home to the highest-volume commercial fishing port in the United States by dollar value, with an economy still anchored by fishing, manufacturing, and logistics. The city has a large Cape Verdean-American community (one of the largest in the world outside Cape Verde), as well as significant Portuguese and Brazilian populations, and the intersection of these communities' mental health needs—including the specific experiences of Cape Verdean identity, immigration, and intergenerational stress—creates important considerations for culturally competent care. Southcoast Health provides behavioral health services, and community health organizations serve the diverse population. Common therapy concerns include fishing industry occupational trauma and risk, Cape Verdean and Portuguese-American identity and immigration stress, economic anxiety, substance use (New Bedford has been significantly affected by opioids), and the mental health challenges of a proud working-class city navigating industrial and demographic change.

Gender ID

	50%	Female
	50%	Male

Session Type

	50%	In Person and Online
	50%	Online Only

Top Treatment Approaches

100%	Integrative Therapy
100%	Somatic Therapy
50%	Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
50%	Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
50%	Dance / Movement Therapy
50%	Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
50%	Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

Ages Served

100%	Adult
100%	Senior
50%	Teen
50%	Young Adult

Client Focus

100%	Persons with Disabilities
50%	Asian
50%	Black / African American
50%	Buddhist
50%	Christian

Alzheimers therapists in New Bedford, MA

Whitney Hoke

MJB Wellness LLC