Abstract
UK government policy makes it clear that people who are affected by dementia should not only receive a timely, ideally early diagnosis but that they should also be provided with support to help them to adapt to the illness. In part, this is based around a belief that early diagnosis and support will facilitate people who receive a diagnosis being able to plan ahead and to take control over their illness. Thus, the recent “Dementia – State of the Nation” report set as a goal that by March 2015, two third of people diagnosed with dementia in the UK should “be supported after diagnosis, to exercise control and choice over their lives and helped to manage their condition so they can live independently for longer”.
While the State of the Nation report mentions the importance of peer support, it provides no guidance as to how this support can be provided effectively. Across the UK, the provision of post-diagnostic support within memory clinics is, at best, variable, with some services providing little or none, while others have structured forms of individual and group therapy.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the participants for their involvement in the study and additionally the psychologists based at the LIFT psychology service in Swindon: Liz Howells OBE, Marianne Evans, Rosa Hoshi, Kim Jackson-Blott, Brian O’Cealliagh and Karen Wiltshire.
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Cheston, R. (2016). Psychotherapy Interventions with People Affected by Dementia. In: Chew-Graham, C., Ray, M. (eds) Mental Health and Older People. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29492-6_20
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