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Dementia
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Aspects of Spirituality in Dementia Care

When Clinicians Tune into Silence

Robert M. Lawrence

St. George's Hospital Medical School, London

Clinicians dealing with persons with dementia are usually unable to maintain communication with the individual beyond the available psychometric tests that only give a crude evaluation of the person's capacity to express thoughts and feelings. Evidence from the elderly with terminal illness and functional psychiatric illness shows that the individual tends to `journey' back to reassuring and positive experiences and that religious matters are of paramount importance in dealing with terminal illness and death. Normal communication channels are precluded for individuals with dementia, as they gradually lose the ability to use understandable speech. The clinician may partly circumvent loss of communication by gathering a holistic and comprehensive view of the person's spiritual background at the very outset and by incorporating this holistic view into the care plan.

Key Words: elderly • language • religion • spirituality

Dementia, Vol. 2, No. 3, 393-402 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/14713012030023007
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