Provider of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy in Taranaki

Founded in August 2017 under the name Forget Me Not - Dementia Services by myself Anna Hornby.

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• I am the sole director of Brains In Action Limited.

• I qualified in 2002 as Ergotherapeutin (Occupational Therapist) in Remscheid, Germany and worked until 2004 in a residential and nursing care facility with an integrated day care, Marienheim, Essen, Germany

• In September 2004 I accepted a position with the PCT Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Wolverhampton, UK. While waiting for my Health Professions Council registration I worked as a technical Instructor in a hospital setting with patients from the ward, the memory clinic and a day programme.

• Once registered in 2005, I remained working in the same department with the duties and responsibilities of a qualified Occupational Therapist, to extend my professional knowledge and experience.

• In March 2006 an opportunity became available to work as an Occupational Therapist in the Blakenhall Community Resource Centre, Wolverhampton, UK. .

• Following the birth of my first child in 2008, I moved to New Zealand and became a full-time mum to my now 3 children and also since 2011 volunteered for Alzheimers New Zealand, as and when time allowed it.

• While working for Alzheimers New Zealand as a volunteer I identified that the provision of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) was not widely practiced in New Zealand and I knew from my work in the UK the value this therapy could provide to patients of early to mid-stage dementia. 

• As a result, I conducted a CST programme for the Alzheimers Day programme in Hawera in May and June 2017. Following the Initial Group Programme I established Forget Me Not – Dementia Services, to provide Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST), Individual Cognitive Stimulation (iCST) and Maintenance Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (MCST) in Hawera

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My previous work as an Occupational Therapist has given me experience in a variety of skills that are very beneficial to providing CST for the people of Taranaki. These skills include:

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• assessing clients according to their needs and abilities and planning and coordinating activity programmes

• working as a member of a multi-disciplinary team with Consultants, community mental health nurses and other agencies

• managing my own caseload, keeping records, regular supervision and professional development

• providing training for support workers and colleagues

Professional links to the New Zealand leading CST experts and trainers Gary Cheung (Old Age Psychiatrist at the University of Auckland & Auckland City Hospital) and Kathy Peri (Gerontology Nurse Specialist at the University of Auckland & Middlemore Hospital) and also to Maori researchers from the AUT make it possible to provide a professional service and keep up to date with new  CST developments.

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Brains in Action Limited is compliant with the Health and Safety at Work Act and Health at Work Regulations 2016.

All staff and volunteers are police vetted.