Caron, W. (2005). Couple's Therapy in Early Stage Dementia.  13th Annual Alzheimer's Association Dementia Care Conference. July 29th, 2005. Chicago, IL.  Abstract: Mental health outcomes for both persons with dementia and their spouse caregivers are strongly linked to the quality of their intimacy. Close emotional bonding supports self-esteem, sooths fears and grief and promotes open communication. But dementia weakens intimacy bonds in ways unlike other conditions. Of special concern is ambiguous loss which has been linked in the author's research to the development of behavior problems and caregiver depression. This presentation describes an innovative couple's therapy intervention aimed at ameliorating behavior problems and caregiver depression. The intervention aims to strengthen emotional bonds by directly challenging processes contributing to boundary ambiguity and focusing couples on their unique relationship strengths. Combining 25 years of marriage therapy experience with 19 years of experience in dementia care, the author describes key techniques in adjusting couple's counseling to the special needs of those with dementia. The unique value of emotion-focused interventions in working with persons with dementia is reviewed. The presentation will refer to attachment theory, implicit and explicit memory and family systems theory to provide the conceptual foundation for providing direct therapy services to persons with dementia. Outcome data from 10 couples is presented indicating the intervention has value in reducing agitation, depression and aggressiveness in persons with dementia as well as reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression in caregivers.

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