10 Principles of The Eden Alternative

Principle One: Loneliness, helplessness, and boredom are painful and destructive to our health and well-being.

Principle Two: A caring, inclusive and vibrant community enables all of us, regardless of age or ability, to experience well-being.

Principle Three: We thrive when we have easy access to the companionship we desire. This is the antidote to loneliness.

Principle Four: We thrive when we have purpose and the opportunity to give, as well as receive. This is the antidote to helplessness.

Principle Five: We thrive when we have variety, spontaneity, and unexpected happenings in our lives. This is the antidote to boredom.

Principle Six: Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. Meaning is unique to each of us and is essential to health and well-being.

Principle Seven: We are more than our medical diagnoses. Medical treatment should support and empower us to experience a life worth living.

Principle Eight: Decision-making must involve those most impacted by the decision. Empowerment activates choice, autonomy, and influence.

Principle Nine: Building a collaborative and resilient culture is a never-ending process. We need to keep learning, developing, and adapting.

Principle Ten: Wise leadership is the key to meaningful and lasting change. For it, there can be no substitute.

As a principle-based philosophy, The Eden Alternative empowers care partners, whether they are employees, family members, or volunteers, to transform institutional approaches to care into the creation of communities where quality of life is valued. Eden firmly believes that transforming the culture of care unfolds one relationship at a time, and that deep change can only take root when the entire continuum of care is involved. A highly adaptable philosophy, The Eden Alternative currently offers Principles and Practices that acknowledge and support the unique needs of various living environments, ranging from the nursing home to individual family homes. The Eden Alternative is well-known for its original mission and vision to transform the organizational culture of nursing homes and other institutional settings. What began as a set of principles has grown into a powerful model for ongoing growth and development in any setting a person calls home.

The Eden Alternative continues to grow a robust circle of support in the U.S. and abroad that includes more than 50,000 Certified Eden Associates, more than 400 Certified Eden organizations, and an extensive cadre of Eden Mentors and Educators. This dedicated community works together toward meaningful culture change in institutional settings through continuing education and a commitment to maximizing quality of life for older people and their care partners. Shared learning is achieved through a variety of educational activities and resources based upon the Eden Alternative Philosophy including the values embodied in the Eden Alternative Ten Principles.

These Ten Principles form the foundation through which any organization can begin to change its culture to provide a more efficient, energized care-giving staff, and a better quality of life for the residents who live there.

Eden Alternative SPAIN´s educational activities include presentations, workshops, and training sessions on The Eden Alternative’s strategies and techniques and how they can be implemented in any setting. These activities are further supported by The Eden Alternative Seven Domains of Well-Being.