There is little opportunity for people living with dementia to talk about their experiences and what is happening to them. This often makes it harder for them to adjust to, and to accept, the diagnosis. Dementia and Psychotherapy Reconsidered introduces a new and distinctive way of thinking about dementia.
Each of the four sections is augmented with examples from the author’s 30 years of clinical and research experience and offers an accessible approach from mainstream psychotherapeutic and psychological frameworks that:
• Places dementia into a psychological context of loss, threat and change
• Addresses the research and clinical evidence underpinning psychotherapy; whether this is delivered to individuals, couples or groups
• Sets out a model of adjustment to dementia and outlines how talking about dementia needs to be tailored to the stage of change
• Explores how psychotherapy and counselling can be adapted to accommodate the client’s cognitive changes and why we need to acknowledge that talking about dementia is not always possible or desirable
Dementia and Psychotherapy Reconsidered is applicable not only to psychotherapists and counsellors, but to clinicians and families who are supporting people living with dementia post-diagnosis and want to find new ways of talking about their experiences.
The dementia field has developed rapidly in its scope and practice over the past 10 years, the Reconsidering Dementia Series is a unique and innovative series published by Open University Press applicable to all audiences.
Series Editors: Keith Oliver and Dawn Brooker.