Autobiographical Therapeutic Theatre with Older People with Dementia

Abstract

During the last two decades we have witnessed extensive change in the perception of dementia care. This change has been rooted in the ideas of Kitwood (2007), which were later conceptualized as the ‘person centered dementia care approach’ (Woods, 1999). Kitwood advocated to stop focusing on the illness and on the tendency to depersonalize and disempower people with dementia, adopting instead a positive attitude that takes into account each person’s individuality and uniqueness, including his or her life story and current coping resources (Bryden, 2002). Kitwood laid the foundation for a revolution in dementia care, creating a shift from the medical model to the psychosocial model of practice (Knocker, 2001). The ‘person centered dementia care approach’ seeks to illuminate the person's capabilities and preserved abilities instead of their difficulties and losses; it encourages the expression of individuality in a social context as opposed to the common tendency to withdraw (Bryden, 2002). This conceptual change reinforced the use of creative methods for helping people with dementia and their caregivers. Research about the correlation between aging and creativity (Baird, 1996; Cohen, 2001, 2006) and the particular contribution of creativity to older people with dementia (Gross et al., 2015; Killick, 2013; Marshall, 2013; Schweitzer & Bruce, 2008), support the use of creative arts therapies as an effective, fulfilling, and valuable tool with this population. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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