“I Want to Find My Life Again”: Dementia and Grief

Abstract

This first-person, qualitative narrative follows the author's encounters with Maureen (M), a resident in a long-term care (LTC) facility whose husband has recently died. The author (C), a Spiritual Care Professional, explores how shifts in identity provoked by dementia impact Maureen's grief. The author focuses on intersections between identity and dimensions of care, as clients with dementia lose the self due to the effects of the disease processes and/or by grief. This article challenges Spiritual Care Professionals to think beyond the neurologically dissipative symptoms of dementia towards reconstructing clients' identities using new feelings and conceptualizations and drawing from memory-based narratives where possible. The author calls for all paid caregivers and Spiritual Care Professionals in particular to consider creatively rethinking their actions and values using the social constructivist model when interacting with clients. Caregivers can encourage the reconstruction of self and identity among clients with dementia by recognizing that clients still feel all emotions even if they are no longer able to express these emotions through words.