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Dementia: Not a mental illness, but boundaries frequently blurred
Author(s) -
Knopf Alison
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
mental health weekly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7583
pISSN - 1058-1103
DOI - 10.1002/mhw.32062
Subject(s) - dementia , mental illness , psychiatry , mental health , psychology , officer , medicine , history , disease , archaeology , pathology
Mental health professionals know dementia is not technically a mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) makes this clear. “Although dementia is defined as ‘the loss of cognitive (mental) functioning,’ it is not considered a mental illness,” Lindsey O'Keefe, NIMH press officer, wrote MHW in an email.