How to attune to spiritual sources of strength of people with mild to moderate dementia

Abstract

People with mild to moderate dementia often struggle with disorienting and alienating effects of the disease. Being attuned to spiritual sources of strength has been shown to be helpful in facing these challenges. In current dementia care practice and literature however, not enough attention is paid to fostering this type of connection. Our research offers a first overview of spiritual strength attunement in dementia. Results make clear how dementia impacts people spiritually, what the properties are of strength attunement and how professional caregivers foster this type of attunement with their clients. Insights are summarized in an integrated model.