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Do people with dementia benefit from psychological interventions offered on a group basis?
Author(s) -
Scott Julie,
Clare Linda
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
clinical psychology and psychotherapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.315
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-0879
pISSN - 1063-3995
DOI - 10.1002/cpp.369
Subject(s) - psychology , psychological intervention , reminiscence , dementia , cognition , intervention (counseling) , creativity , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , relevance (law) , cognitive psychology , social psychology , psychiatry , medicine , disease , pathology , political science , law
Psychological interventions, whether directed at cognitive functioning or emotional expression, are frequently offered on a group basis to people with dementia. This paper aims to review the range of therapies offered and to evaluate the evidence for their effectiveness. Four categories of group therapy are identified: early approaches to enhancing well‐being (reality orientation, validation and reminiscence); methods aimed at improving memory and cognition (cognitive stimulation and memory training); psychotherapy; and support. Although the review demonstrates the wide range of group work offered, and the creativity of practitioners in this area, relatively little formal evaluation has been undertaken. It is therefore difficult to reach firm conclusions regarding evidence for efficacy. There is a need for more research, and future evaluations should pay increased attention to the selection of appropriate methodologies and outcome measures, the question of clinical relevance and the issue of individual differences in response to intervention. In addition, it will be important to enable people with dementia and their family members to play a role in determining what interventions are relevant and acceptable, and what outcomes are desirable. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.