What Is the Brain Health Café?
The Brain Health Café at WyCOA features Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) to help participants keep their minds active through conversation, engaging activities, and social connection in a group setting. These in-person group sessions include approximately 5–8 participants and meet once a week for 50 minutes for 14 weeks.
If you would like to bring the Brain Health Cafe to YOUR community contact WyCOA today!
More about Cognitive stimulation therapy:
Cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) is a short-term, evidence-based, group or individual intervention program for people with mild to moderate dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. The goal of CST is to guide people with dementia through a series of themed activities designed to promote continued learning so that they can stay mentally stimulated and socially engaged. Activities may include puzzles or games, playing instruments, or engaging in conversation with other group members and/or program facilitators.
Why is CST Effective?
•Use it or lose it – taking part in mentally stimulating activities strengthens &
creates new neuronal connections.
•Provides complexity, novelty & diversity required for transferrable cognitive gains
(Moreau & Conway, 2014).
• Impact on memory: Short Term Memory- How many pieces of information you can hold
onto for short period of time. Information comes in from auditory and visual systems
primarily. Long Term Memory- If value is placed on information in short term memory,
it will move to long term. Intensity about information helps it “stick.” Working
Memory- Taking information from short and long term and assimilating or manipulating
it. Basis for higher executive function.
CST guides participants through prompting memories and thoughts to stimulate working memory for assimilation and manipulation of thoughts. “Turning the lights on.”
CST Facilitator Hub
Access materials, resources, and program support! *COMING SOON!
The University of Wyoming has earned its Research Level 1 (R1) status from the Carnegie
Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, placing Wyoming's only four-year
university with the top research universities in the United States.
WyCOA is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $5,000,000
with 0% financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA,
HHS or the U.S. Government.