Psychological effects of poetry workshops with people with early stage dementia: An exploratory study

Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of writing poetry on psychological functioning in people with early stage dementia.

Method:

A series of poetry writing workshops was conducted with four women, at the end of which a one-on-one short structured interview was conducted.

Results:

All of the women said that they benefited from the workshops, but their experiences differed greatly. Themes included competence and self-efficacy, personal growth, wanting to contribute and poetry writing as a way of coping with the progression of the condition.

Conclusion:

Creative activities such as writing poetry hold promise for enhancing the quality of life of people with dementia.

Keywords

creativity dementia poetry as topic qualitative research

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