Imaginary Worlds
The New York Times recently published an article about a new trend in the care of dementia patients. Some call it reminiscence therapy. It was once thought best for caregivers to attempt to orient their delusional patients toward reality: When a patient suffering from dementia asked for his wife, for example, his caregiver was instructed truthfully to tell him, over and over, that she had died years ago. But each time, the patient would be convulsed with fresh shock and grief.
This is why some have now decided it is better to enter the world of the patients’ remaining memories, where the patients are happy and calm. Caregivers of this school simply tell the patient, over and over, “Your wife just called. Traffic’s bad, but she’ll be here in a few minutes. Look—dinner is ready!”
One care home in California has built something like a Truman Show for its charges, who spend their days in a replica small town from the 1950s. They take their meals in an old-fashioned diner, …
