This case study describes an art therapy intervention with a client diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease who was coping with grief. The course of fifteen sessions included three phases: body awareness, grief emotions, and grief acceptance. The positive changes parallel ways that art therapy can benefit older adults by promoting communication,…

The impact of public participants in data analysis has been reported, but there is little research on public involvement of analysis of naturally occurring interactional data. Four video recordings of clinicians from out of hours primary care services visiting care home residents with dementia were analysed in data sessions involving 12 people…

Ronald E. Hays is the former Director of the Hahnemann Creative Arts in Therapy Department at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the cofounder of the graduate art therapy program at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia. At the age of 62 he was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia. In…

This pilot intervention compared the effects of songwriting and discussion as methods for teaching self-care to caregivers of those with dementia. The investigator led a psychoeducational discussion and a songwriting intervention with a group of caregivers, focusing on self-care. Participants answered two open-ended questions that were analyzed by…

Purpose: The purpose of this experimental study was to test the efficacy of a psychoeducational individual program conceived to facilitate transition to the caregiver role following diagnosis of Alzheimer disease in a relative. Design and Methods: Caregivers were recruited in memory clinics and randomized to an experimental group (n = 62) or a…

This article offers a critical discussion of notions of self as they emerge in the diaries kept by Alzheimer patients and their caregivers. It explores ways in which diary writing becomes simultaneously an agentive way by which a sense of "self" gets scripted since memory is fast slipping away, while also pointing to the fluid nature of identities…

Objective: Information on the shortened, 20-item version of the Perceived Social Support Scale (S-PSSS) is scarce. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the S-PSSS Family (SSfa) and Friends (SSfr) subscales. Method: Because of their common coping method of social support, a cross-sectional sample of Alzheimer's…

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive condition that results in brain wasting and eventual death. With its increasing diagnosis rate, counselors will likely acquire clients with Alzheimer's disease or their caregivers. Important background information and several practical counseling methods are provided that may assist counselors working with this…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the grief and personal growth experience of spouses and adult children of individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and the factors contributing to these experiences. Design and Methods: We used a modification of the Marwit-Meuser-Sanders Caregiver Grief model to examine the…

An abundance of literature on caregivers of individuals with dementia has been written since the mid-1980s. However, most of this literature focused on the experience of stress, burden, and depression in caregivers, thus excluding the grief experience that also accompanies the caregiving experience. The purpose of this multimethod study is to…

This study focused on one question: Do caregiver responses--emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, appraisal of burden, and appraisal of satisfaction--mediate or moderate the effects of caregiving stress on psychological well-being? Findings indicate that development of interventions that focus on how caregivers appraise their situation,…

Examined strategies used by 170 Alzheimer's disease caregivers to cope with memory deficits, communication impairments, and decline of loved one. Wishfulness was related to more depressed affect, regardless of stressor type. Relaxation in response to memory deficits, and acceptance in dealing with communication impairments and decline of loved one…

Examined personality factors and coping strategies among 50 spouse caregivers of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or related dementia. Results showed that personality traits explained 60% of variance in emotion-focused coping, 30% of variance in problem-focused coping, and 15% of variance associated with social support coping.…

Purpose: We adopted a feminist, structural approach to husbands' experiences of caring for wives with Alzheimer's disease. This framework posited that men and women draw upon gender repertoires--situational ideals of behavior based upon their respective structural locations--that create gendered experiences of stress and coping strategies. Design…

Examined how strategies to manage dementia problems in 152 older people were associated with adjustment of family members while providing assistance to relative. Identified three dementia management strategies (criticism, encouragement, and active management) that were associated with three indices of family members' emotional adjustment (burden,…