2 Psychological Care of the Person with Dementia

new york rap, brazillian rhythm, piano classical · 3:34

Listen on 93

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Kitwood named the personhood that dwells within each mind,
A self that dementia obscures but cannot undermine,
Malignant social psychology chips the selfhood away,
Infantilizing, ignoring — let person-centered hold its sway,
We treacle not their dignity with haste or careless tone,
We meet the human being there, not symptoms carved in bone

[Chorus]
DICE it, ABC it, name the unmet need,
Cohen-Mansfield showed us — agitation's a creed,
Person-centered, CST, reminiscence, CBT,
The acronym cathedral: learn the architecture free,
Capacity is context, it shifts from task to task,
And truth wears different vestments — know which robe to ask

[Verse 2]
In early stages, therapy adapts its careful hand,
Adjusted CBT explores the grief of losing planned-for land,
Life story work and support groups hold the shrinking self in place,
Cognitive rehabilitation — goal by goal, at measured pace,
Depression lurks, anxiety unfurls like parchment scrolled,
Reminiscence stitches meaning from the fabric of the old

[Chorus]
DICE it, ABC it, name the unmet need,
Cohen-Mansfield showed us — agitation's a creed,
Person-centered, CST, reminiscence, CBT,
The acronym cathedral: learn the architecture free,
Capacity is context, it shifts from task to task,
And truth wears different vestments — know which robe to ask

[Verse 3]
Validation honors their reality with measured, steady grace,
Reality orientation may clash or find its place,
Repeated questions echo like a tolling chapel bell,
Confabulation fills the voids — the brain constructs a spell,
A fiblet is not falsehood if it soothes without betrayal,
The ethics weigh like mercury — each conversation's scale

[Bridge]
Sundowning, wandering, apathy's vast lacuna —
A lacuna: hollow emptiness where motivation was —
Sexual disinhibition, sleep disturbed too soon, the
Refusals of care are signals, not a futile cause,
Music, movement, environment, address the pain untreated,
STAR and REACH train caregivers — the burden is depleted,
Antipsychotics sparingly — the risks are not completed

[Verse 4]
Capacity in dementia must be task-specific weighed,
Can they drive safely homeward? Are the firearms safely stowed away?
Finances and living solo — each domain assessed alone,
Advance care planning flowers best while reasoning is sown,
Document the wishes while the lucid windows hold,
For BPSD needs shepherding before the non-pharmacological is enrolled

[Chorus]
DICE it, ABC it, name the unmet need,
Cohen-Mansfield showed us — agitation's a creed,
Person-centered, CST, reminiscence, CBT,
The acronym cathedral: learn the architecture free,
Capacity is context, it shifts from task to task,
And truth wears different vestments — know which robe to ask

[Outro]
The self persists beneath the fog, the person still remains,
Kitwood's torch illuminates what clinical care sustains,
Meet the being, not the burden — therein lies the art,
Psychological care for dementia — that is where we start

← 1 Foundations | 3 Caregiver Support (see also Module 12) →