McGill Dementia Education Program

01/15/2026

This Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, our thoughts are with the countless caregivers who show up every day with patience, strength and love — even when the journey feels overwhelming.

💙 With dementia affecting over 750,000 Canadians, improving access to trusted educational resources isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.

In 2021, with support from the Fondation Grace Dart / Grace Dart Foundation, the McGill University Dementia Education Program published a free educational guide to support people living with dementia and their caregivers.

Dementia, Your Companion Guide provides information on the science and progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, and includes practical advice on safety and self-care for both the caregiver and the person living with dementia.

This guide is gaining recognition both in Quebec and internationally. To date, it has been shared with over 100,000 caregivers.

The Fondation de la Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec recently joined the Grace Dart Foundation to support the printing and distribution of these guides and make them freely available at specialized clinics throughout the province of Quebec.

The guide was also accepted for inclusion on the World Health Organization (WHO) ’s Global Dementia Observatory Knowledge Exchange Platform, taking its place as a high-quality resource on the global stage.

If you know a caregiver, please share this important resource. If you are a caregiver, thank you — your dedication matters more than you may ever hear.

📘 Download your free copy of Dementia, Your Companion Guide: https://www.mcgill.ca/dementia/resources/dementia-your-companion-guide

📘 Read the article to learn how this resource is transforming dementia care:
Offering a “prescription of care” to people living with dementia and their caregivers
https://www.mcgill.ca/dementia/article/offering-prescription-care-people-living-dementia-and-their-caregivers

Let’s continue working together to promote dignity, understanding, and better support for everyone affected by dementia.


Claire Webster

Dementia, Your Companion Guide is a FREE educational guide for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their caregivers that was created by a multidisciplinary team from the McGill University Dementia Education Program (DEP) in 2021. It represents the vision of Claire Webster, former caregiver and fo...

01/12/2026

Échanges aidants est un forum en ligne où les partenaires de soins des personnes atteintes de troubles neurocognitifs pourront s'informer auprès d'experts, partager leurs inquiétudes et poser des questions.

Depuis le lancement de cette initiative en 2022, nous avons reçu de nombreuses demandes pour proposer ce forum en français.

Nous sommes heureux d'annoncer que le prochain épisode d’Echanges aidants le 21 janvier 2026 à 11 heures HNE se déroulera en français et sera animé par Claire Webster et Carmen Desjardins.

Claire et Carmen animeront une discussion sur comment approcher les symptômes comportementaux et psychologique de la démence. Elles prodigueront des conseils sur la manière de composer avec les problèmes de la vie quotidienne, les agressions verbales ou physiques, et les comportements sexuels inappropriés.

Cette discussion est ouverte à tous!
Information et inscription : https://mcgill.ca/x/5J8

Échanges aidants est un forum en ligne où les partenaires de soins des personnes atteintes de troubles neurocognitifs pourront s'informer auprès d'experts, partager leurs inquiétudes et poser des questions. Soyez des nôtres le 21 janvier 2026 à 11 heures HNE pour une discussion visant à soute...

01/07/2026

January is a great time to prioritize your health and well-being by adopting good habits.

On today’s episode of McGill Cares, Dr. Samir Sinha will discuss how consistent actions over time can lead to significant positive outcomes to improve our brain health. He will share information on the National Institute on Ageing’s national public education campaign, Small Steps Big Difference and provide examples of 14 simple ways that we can take action to reduce or delay our dementia risk by up to 45 per cent.

Join us for this free webcast today at noon, or watch the recording afterwards at your convenience.

https://mcgill.ca/x/5ZU

Join us on January 7, 2026 at noon for our next episode of McGill Cares, a webcast series designed to support informal caregivers. During candid 30-minute interviews with leading experts, Claire Webster, Founder of the McGill Dementia Education Program, explores topics related to caring for a loved....

12/16/2025

Ne manquez pas notre dernier épisode de McGill à vos côtés de l'année qui aura lieu le mercredi, 17 décembre à midi avec Dre Julia Chabot, gériatre au Centre hospitalier de St. Mary, professeure agrégée au Département de médecine de l’Université McGill et présidente de l’Association des gériatres du Québec.

La Dre Chabot discutera des avantages potentiels de la comme outil thérapeutique pour les personnes atteintes de troubles neurocognitifs. Elle explorera également des approches pratiques pour intégrer la musique dans les milieux de soins cliniques et recommandera aux proches aidants des moyens d’utiliser la musique à la maison pour faciliter les routines quotidiennes et favoriser les liens affectifs.

Cette webémission gratuite sera disponible en français et en anglais.

https://mcgill.ca/x/iCV

Soyez des nôtres le 17 décembre 2025 à midi pour notre prochain épisode de McGill à vos côtés, une série de webémissions qui a pour but de soutenir les proches aidants. Lors d’entretiens sans artifice de 30 minutes avec des experts de premier plan, Claire Webster, fondatrice du Programme ...

12/12/2025

Register now to join the Winter 2026 sessions of The Sharing Room virtual support groups!

Offered by the McGill University Dementia Education Program in collaboration with the Société Alzheimer de Montréal, The Sharing Room offers a safe space for to share their experiences, connect with other caregivers, and identify their own needs.

These 90-minute support groups take place online over Zoom during a series of 6 sessions. There is a group for partners/spouses and another group for adult children of people living with , and each group is offered in both French and English.

For more information and to register, please visit our website: https://www.mcgill.ca/dementia/support-groups/sharing-room

In 2021, the McGill University Dementia Education Program and the Alzheimer Society of Montreal (ASM) partnered to offer The Sharing Room, a safe space for care partners to share about their experiences, to connect online with each other to break the isolation, and to engage and identify their own n...

12/10/2025

Alia Osman, a PhD Candidate from the McGill School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, is conducting a study to update an assessment tool that evaluates daily activities and participation in community life among individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Please see details below and reach out to her if you are interested in learning more!

11/26/2025

Join us for our next McGill Cares webcast on December 17 at noon, when Dr. Julia Chabot will discuss the potential benefits of using music as a therapeutic tool for patients with dementia.

She will explore practical approaches for integrating music into clinical care settings and recommend ways for caregivers to introduce music at home to support daily routines and foster emotional connections.

All are welcome! https://www.mcgill.ca/dementia/channels/event/mcgill-cares-benefits-music-people-living-dementia-369115

11/12/2025

A special thank you to Elder Abuse Prevention Ontario for inviting our program's founder, Claire Webster, to be a guest on your new podcast series, !

Listen to this podcast to hear Claire, along with Dr. Samir Sinha of National Institute on Aging - NIH and Dr. Jane Rylett of Canadian Institutes of Health Research share their wealth of knowledge in research, policy and practice to help us better understand Dementia in Canada.

https://sites.libsyn.com/542487/dementia-in-canada-awareness-risks-and-reality

McGill University
McGill University Alumni
McGill Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
McGill University Research Centre For Studies in Aging

Dementia significantly impacts the lives of many Canadians, particularly for older adults and their caregivers. Canadians of all ages need to be knowledgeable about dementia, have access to information and support to lower their risk and acknowledge their role in combating stigma surrounding dementi...

11/07/2025

Caring Conversations is an online forum where care partners of people living with dementia can learn from experts, share concerns and ask questions.

Our next Caring Conversation will take place on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. ET and the subject will be on practicing positivity and self-care through art.

Social worker Lucy Barylak and professional coach and educator Joanne Besner will focus on the importance of positivity and the healing power of art as a powerful medium to improve caregiver well-being. For this special Caring Conversation, we have invited art specialist Cynthia van Frank to talk about a series of paintings that she has created to reflect her personal journey as a caregiver to her mother who grapples with dementia.

All are welcome!

Information and Registration: https://mcgill.ca/x/iHJ

10/23/2025

SOMMEIL ET ALZHEIMER 💤🧠 | Des chercheurs de l’Institut universitaire en santé mentale Douglas mènent un essai clinique pour déterminer si le daridorexant, un nouveau médicament contre l’insomnie, pourrait prévenir la maladie d’Alzheimer.

Selon la Dre Sylvia Villeneuve et son équipe du Centre StoP-Alzheimer, l’effet nettoyant du médicament sur le cerveau pourrait être la clé de la prévention de la maladie.

Lisez l’article complet de TVA Nouvelles en cliquant sur le lien en commentaire! ⤵️

Vous voudriez participer à cette recherche? Le Centre StoP-Alzheimer cherche des participants de 50 à 90 ans pour cet essai clinique, sans problème de mémoire et en bonne santé. Écrivez à 👉 prevenir.alzheimer@douglas.mcgill.ca

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SLEEP AND ALZHEIMER’S 💤🧠 | Clinical trials by researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute are studying whether daridorexant, a new medication for insomnia, could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.

According to Dr. Sylvia Villeneuve and her team at the StoP-AD Centre, the medication’s cleaning effect in the brain could be the key to preventing this disease.

Read the whole report from TVA Nouvelles by clinking the link in the comments. ⤵️

Do you want to contribute to this research? The StoP-AD Centre is looking for participants aged 50 to 90 years old who do not have memory issues and are in good health for this clinical trial. Email prevenir.alzheimer@douglas.mcgill.ca.

Santé Québec
Centre de recherche Douglas - Douglas Research Centre
Fondation Douglas - Douglas Foundation

10/22/2025

If you're part of the McGill University family, stop by our booth today at the McGill Employee Health Fair to pick up your free copy of Dementia, Your Companion Guide! SSMU building, 3rd floor!

09/22/2025