By Michael Booth, Founder of the Dementia Training Academy
When people ask me why I created the Dementia Training Academy, the answer is simple: because dementia care is not just a skill. It’s a relationship. And relationships thrive on empathy, understanding, and emotional intelligence.
For too long, dementia training has focused on tasks, checklists, and clinical processes. Important, yes, but incomplete. What’s been missing is the human heart of dementia care: the ability to see the person behind the diagnosis, to understand their world, and to respond with compassion rather than correction.
That’s where emotionally intelligent training changes everything.
Why Emotionally Intelligent Care Matters
Dementia affects memory, communication, and behaviour, but it never removes a person’s need for dignity, connection, and belonging. When carers understand the emotional landscape of dementia, something remarkable happens:
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Conversations become calmer
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Relationships become stronger
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Distress reduces
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Confidence grows, for both the person with dementia and the carer
Emotionally intelligent care isn’t about doing more. It’s about understanding more.
Lived Experience at the Centre
As someone living with dementia myself, I know how it feels when people talk about you instead of to you. I know how it feels when your abilities are underestimated, or when your emotions are misunderstood.
That’s why every part of our training is shaped by lived experience, not theory alone.
We teach carers to:
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Listen beyond the words
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Notice emotional cues
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Understand triggers
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Respond with patience, not pressure
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Build trust through consistency and kindness
This isn’t soft training. This is skilled training, the kind that transforms care.
A New Standard for Dementia Training
Our new accreditation pathway, from Dementia Community Supporter to Dementia Innovation & Leadership Fellow, is designed to raise the bar nationally.
Each level builds confidence, competence, and emotional intelligence. Each level strengthens the relationship between carer and cared‑for. Each level moves us closer to a world where people with dementia feel safe, valued, and understood.
This is not just training. It’s a movement.
What’s Coming Next
Over the coming months, this Blog & News page will share:
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Real stories from carers and families
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Practical tips for supporting people with dementia
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Insights from my own lived experience
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Updates on our accreditation pathway
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Research highlights and best practice
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Guest blogs from professionals and community members
If you’d like to contribute your own story or perspective, I’d love to hear from you.
A Final Thought
Dementia may change how a person communicates, but it never changes who they are.
When we train with emotional intelligence, we don’t just improve care. We honour humanity.
And that is the heart of the Dementia Training Academy.