Conceptual manual

The conceptual manual is primarily intended for activity workers in geriatric facilities; nevertheless, the procedures can also be applied to home care. The authors focus both on the technical matters of virtual reality use and aspects of the virtual experience, together with the procedures that will make it possible to fully utilize the potential of this method. The manual concentrates on the form and content of the experience, guides the reader through the methods of communication with the older user from the invitation to the virtual experience and to its end, and provides practical examples of the use of the virtual experience in memory training or reminiscence. Virtual reality should never represent a kind of happy world where the senior is ‘put away’ without further attention from the activity worker or carer. With some exaggeration, it can be said that the virtual experience becomes real only through sharing.