Harmony: A Practical Approach for Healthcare Providers
Healthcare providers often work with adults living with conditions that affect memory, thinking and daily function. These conditions include dementia, traumatic brain injuries and developmental delays.
While clinical training supports diagnosis and medical management, many challenges that affect daily life – behavior changes and lived experiences – unfold in everyday moments at home.
Providers often see the effects of these experiences during check-ups. But they may have limited tools to address what happens between visits.
We have developed the Harmony program at the University of Kentucky to help bridge that gap.
A growing model of care
Developed by Dr. Elizabeth Rhodus, Harmony is grounded in a simple idea: The way a person experiences their environment directly affects how they function.
Working with colleagues, Rhodus developed a system of assessment and personalized intervention for occupational therapists to support the aging-in-place needs of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Today, Harmony’s principles are extending to support a broader range of providers and conditions.
Harmony offers an innovative, evidence-based approach that supports adults with neurodegenerative conditions. It offers simple, personalized strategies that can be applied in everyday settings.
Through federally funded clinical trials, caregivers and family members across Kentucky have participated in the Harmony telehealth program. They have received training and tools to improve daily life for their loved ones living with dementia.
As Harmony continues to grow, new research initiatives, educational offerings and clinical pathways are being developed. These offerings include the online Harmony Certification program at UK for occupational therapists (currently in development). The goal is to help more professionals and organizations adopt this proven model of care.
Why the Harmony approach works
Light, sound, visual cues, movement and physical space shape how a person understands what is happening around them. When those signals are confusing or overwhelming, daily activities can become difficult.
When the environment is set up to support abilities and anticipate needs, people often move through their day easier.
These principles are well-established across rehabilitation, behavioral science and neuroscience. Harmony brings them together in a practical framework that applies directly to daily life.
Rather than asking people living with cognitive challenges to adapt to environments that no longer make sense to them, Harmony focuses on adjusting the environment to support function, participation and comfort.
Care is centered on the everyday tasks that shape how a day feels. Dressing, bathing, eating and moving through the home often determine whether a day feels manageable – for both for the person living with cognitive impairment and those supporting them.
The Harmony approach offers a way for healthcare professionals to remain engaged in daily care beyond diagnosis. It supports function within current abilities and adapts as needs change over time.
Rehabilitation and habilitation, explained simply
In many areas of health care, rehabilitation focuses on helping people regain skills after injury or illness. Caring for people with impaired memory and thinking often requires a different approach.
Harmony emphasizes habilitation – supporting continued participation in daily life as abilities change. This involves adjusting routines, environments and expectations so meaningful activities remain possible.
For therapists, this approach supports ongoing involvement across all stages of the patient and family’s journey.
The Harmony Certification program at UK will equip occupational therapists with practical, evidence‑based tools to apply the Harmony approach in real‑world settings.
The program is designed for professionals working with adults living with dementia and other cognitive conditions. The certification program will translate research into action, strengthening clinical confidence and extending the reach of this proven model of care.
To learn more about Harmony or to be placed on a waiting list for the Harmony Certification program, email engagedaging@uky.edu.
