Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (in-person) training session with Dr Banika Ahuja

Name: Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (in-person) training session with Dr Banika Ahuja
Start: 2026-03-20T10:30:00+00:00
Location: Pendulum Hotel

Schedule

Fri, 20 Mar, 2026 at 10:30 am

UTC+00:00

Location

Pendulum Hotel | Manchester, EN

Edgerton Suite at Manchester Conference Centre & Pendulum Hotel Sackville St, Manchester M1 3BB, UK
About the Event
What is Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST)?
CST is an evidence-based group treatment for people with mild to moderate dementia. It involves 14 or more sessions of stimulating, themed activities, based around more complex principles including learning theory and person-centred care. CST can be extended into a longer-term treatment and can be offered to a range of clients including outpatients and people in residential or day care.
What does the training involve?
Training is led by a Clinical Psychologists with extensive experience in offering CST. Training is interactive, involving group exercises, role-play and video observation as well as some ‘teaching’.
Course Aim
To give learners an overview of how to deliver Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST). CST is a brief evidence-based group treatment for people with dementia. This interactive course will include a background about CST and how it can be used, research overview and detailed presentation of the treatment, including video footage and role-play.
Learning Objectives - at the end of the training delegates will be able to:
Reflect on some different perspectives of dementia
Consider key psychosocial approaches for dementia
Learn about how CST was designed and evaluated
Be familiar with the 14 CST sessions, through session clips and role-play
Understand how to apply the key principles to CST
Develop a plan for running CST groups, which considers issues around implementation.
Trainer: Dr Banika Ahuja
Dr Banika Ahuja is a Clinical Psychologist working in an Older Adults CMHT in the NHS, with experience in working with older adults, dementia care and delivering CST groups and trainings both in the UK and culturally adapted CST in India. She has delivered talks and workshops on mental health, ageing and CST at local and international platforms (E.g. TEDx, VH1, Youth for Mental Health), and pioneered various virtual psychoeducational and psychosocial initiatives to support the well-being of older people in India during the Covid pandemic. She recently published a systematic review on dementia policy in India with Professor Aimee Spector; co-developed and culturally adapted the "iSupport" intervention for Urdu-speaking carers in the UK (manuscript in preparation), and contributed to the book summary chapters in the "Injured Brains of Medical Minds II" , a book by Professor Narinder Kapur, which offers insights into the lived experiences of healthcare professionals living with neurological conditions like dementia.