Sophie Doswell is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who has worked in the NHS with individuals with intellectual disabilities and autistic individuals for over 25 years. She was introduced to Intensive Interaction early in her career and is passionate about its use within services as a way of connecting with individuals, alleviating distress and helping supporters. Maggie Ellis, MBE, is a psychologist based at the University of St Andrews. She has worked with people living with dementia as a volunteer and researcher for 24 years, with a particular focus on facilitating communication between people with very advanced dementia and their carers.
'This book will be helpful to so many families and staff supporting daily on the ground. The book promotes humanity, the importance of the connections we make with each other, the ability to understand, read the non-verbal cues and help enable the person you are supporting to have a really positive moments, increasing opportunity to build the supports for the best life possible for them.' Frances Steepe, Parent and advocate for using Intensive Interaction, Oxford, UK. 'Intensive Interaction is one of the most intriguing avenues of therapy for connecting with people seen as otherwise unreachable. The book offers a valuable - and I suspect, heartwarming - collection of papers showing the diversity of experience and practice using this method. Its importance lies also in attempts to frame it theoretically within Psychology, a connection which is valuable for practitioners and non-practitioners alike.' Vasudevi Reddy, Emeritus Professor, Developmental and Cultural Psychology Centre for Interaction, Development and Diversity, University of Portsmouth, UK