Caregiving can be stressful, and older adults’ health and well-being may be impacted by the roles and responsibilities they assume as caregivers for persons with serious mental illness (SMI). This study is the first to apply the Stress Process Model of Caregiving (SPM) in an attempt to understand how mental illness stigma influences caregiver outcomes, specifically their desire to relinquish care. The intent of this study was to call attention to care relinquishment as an under-studied stress process outcome and to explore stress factors, with a focus on mental illness stigma, that contribute to SMI caregivers’ desire to relinquish care. Using convenience sampling, members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in the eastern U.S. were invited to participate in an online survey, resulting in a sample of n = 285. Regression analysis findings suggest that caregivers’ partnership status, exposure to problematic behaviors, and perceptions of courtesy stigma predicted desire to relinquish care. Neither age nor caregiver sense of mastery moderated the relationship between perceived courtesy stigma and relinquishment desire. Perceptions of stigma were negatively associated with caregiver health, sense of mastery, and social support levels, indicating stigma’s role in the erosion of caregiver resources. This study provides information that can inform the development of educational and supportive services that may help caregivers better cope with the stressors associated with SMI caregiving. With caregiving stressors diminished, older caregivers will be able to better apply their resources toward self-care and maintaining their quality of life.

Bakgrund: I dagens samhälle är det många människor som söker sig till akutmottagningen av olika orsaker. På grund av den stora mängden patienter kan arbetsbelastningen bli hög för vårdpersonalen, och de kan därför tvingas prioritera medicinska aspekter före de psykologiska behoven. Patienterna kan därför uppleva mötet på akutmottagningen som okänsligt. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka patienters upplevelse av bemötande från vårdare på akutmottagning. Metod: Litteraturstudie. Resultat: Resultatet visar på fyra övergripande teman: det första mötet på akutmottagningen, bra bemötande, dåligt eller bristande bemötande och informationens betydelse för patienten. Diskussion: I diskussionen beskrivs bland annat patienters upplevelse av bemötande i förhållande till begreppet livsvärld, men även hur informationen och väntetiden kan påverka patientens vistelse på akutmottagningen. Konklusion: De flesta patienter uttrycker tillfredsställelse över bemötandet och informationen som de får i första mötet på akutmottagningen. Efter det akuta skedet upplever dock många patienter att informationen och bemötandet fallerar och blir sämre. / Background: In todays society many people are seeking care at the emergency department for different reasons. The caregivers are because of the pressured workload, forced to prioritize the patient's medical issues over their psychological needs. Therefor in an urgent situation the patients can perceive the care as insensitive. Aim: the aim was to describe patients perception of the interpersonal encounter with caregivers in the emergency department. Method: literature study. Result: The result shows four overall themes: the first encounter at the emergency department, patient perception of good encounter with caregivers, bad or lack of encounter from the caregivers and the informations meaning for the patients. Discussion: In the discussion patients experience of treatment is described in contrast to the concept of life-world. Furthermore the importance of information and how waiting times affect the experience is illustrated. Conclusion: Most patients express satisfaction with the response and the information that they receive in the first meeting at the emergency department. However after the acute stage many patients express that the information and treatment doesn’t maintain the same standard as before.

African American families of youth with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) traditionally have lower rates of ADHD treatment compared to nonminority groups. These treatment disparities underscore the importance of better understanding the barriers to treatment for these families. Therefore, in a sample of 67 African American caregivers of children with ADHD, the current study examined (1) factors that predict barriers to treatment for African American families of children with ADHD and (2) whether caregiver impairment mediates comorbid behavior problems and barriers to treatment for African American youth with ADHD. Analyses revealed that caregiver impairment predicted barriers to treatment and mediated the relationship between comorbid behavior problems and barriers to treatment. These findings highlight how caregiver impairment may play a significant role in preventing African American families from engaging in ADHD treatment for their child. Furthermore, targeting caregiver impairment in treatment may be particularly beneficial for African American families of youth with ADHD.

Bakgrund: Vid Alzheimers sjukdom försämras de kognitiva funktionerna vilket innebär svåra psykiska och sociala funktionsnedsättningar. Det finns inget botemedel för Alzheimers sjukdom och dess sjukdomsförlopp är långdraget med upp till 10–15 år och leder sedermera att personen avlider. I tidiga skeden av Alzheimers sjukdom riskerar anhöriga förbinda sig med orimliga åtaganden utan tanke på sjukdomens progression och det ökande vårdbehovet. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva upplevelsen av att vara anhörigvårdare till personer med Alzheimers sjukdom samt granska datainsamlingsmetoden i de valda artiklarna. Metod: Föreliggande studie var en beskrivande litteraturstudie med deskriptiv design som baserades på 12 artiklar med både kvalitativ och kvantitativ ansats. Materialet inhämtades genom sökningar i databasen PubMed. Huvudresultat: Resultatet visar att anhörigvårdare till personer med Alzheimers sjukdom upplever känslor av oro, stress, ångest, skam och skuldkänslor vid vårdandet av sin anhörige. Dessa känslor upplevs som värre i relation med att sjukdomen progredierar och det ökade omvårdnadsbehovet leder till att anhörigvårdare känner rädsla över att bli utbrända och ett förlorat hopp om framtiden. Motsatsen till detta är anhörigvårdare med ett förhållningssätt att varje dag var unik och därför accepterande sin nya roll i livet. Detta gav anhörigvårdare högre livskvalitet och upplevde därmed mindre nivåer av ångest i vardagen som resulterade i hopp om framtiden. Slutsats: Hur anhörigvårdaren upplever situationer som negativ eller positiv präglas av hur de hanterar och förhåller sig till situationer. Strategierna som används ger antingen ökad eller minskad stress och korrelerar med risken för att bli utbränd. / Background: Alzheimer's disease is impaired cognitive functions, which means severe mental and social disabilities. There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease and its course is up to 10-15 years and subsequently leads to the person dies. In the early stages of Alzheimer's disease relatives commit themselves with excessive commitments with no thoughts given to the disease's progression and the increasing need for care. Within the health care the health professionals sees the problems associated with being a family caregiver and the risk of them becoming burned out. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe the experience of being a family caregiver to people with Alzheimer’s disease and examine the data collection method in the selected articles. Method: The present study was a literature study with a descriptive design based on 12 scientific articles with both qualitative and quantitative approach. The material was gathered through searches in the database PubMed. Main results: The result shows that the family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease experience feelings of anxiety, stress, shame and guilt when caring for their loved one. These feelings are experienced as worse in relation with the disease progresses and the increased need for nursing leads to that the family caregivers feel fear of becoming burned out and feel lost hope for the future. The opposite of this is family caregivers with an attitude that every day was unique and therefore accepting their new role in life. This gave the family caregivers a higher quality of life and thus less experienced levels of anxiety in everyday life that resulted in feeling hope for the future. Conclusion: The experience of the family caregivers could either be positive or negative in managing of a person with Alzheiemer’s disease. The way of managing characterized how the family caregiver relates to situations. The managing of the strategys either reduce or induce levels of stress and correlates with the risk of being bournt-out.

Background Globally, there is increasing emphasis on the importance of understanding the ways in which social inequality and injustice impact individual and community mental health. Set in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, India, this thesis examines the complex relationships between individuals, communities and the social environment in relation to mental health. North India is characterised by stark gender and socio-economic inequalities and social exclusion for people with psycho-social disability (PPSD) and mental health services in these study areas were essentially absent. Community mental health competency means people are collectively able to participate in efforts to promote, prevent, treat and advocate for mental health. This thesis reflexively examines the presence and absence of community mental health competence in the upper Ganges region. Methods A mixed methods approach allowed for a multi-level examination of community mental health competence, and generated four sub-studies. In-depth interviews with thirteen PPSD and eighteen caregivers in Bijnor and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh state) were carried out in 2013 providing data for qualitative analysis. These data were analysed using qualitative content analysis to examine experiences of exclusion and inclusion of PPSD in sub-study I, and thematic analysis to examine the gendered experiences of caregivers in sub-study II. A community based sample of 960 people in Dehradun district (Uttarakhand) were surveyed in 2014 to examine the prevalence, treatment gap and social determinants of depression in substudy III, and the attitudes and preferred social distance from people with depression and psychosis were investigated in sub-study IV. Multi-variate regression analysis in both studies was conducted with Stata software Version 13.1. Results Within the domain of knowledge, relatively low community mental health literacy, a diverse range of explanatory models of mental health, and creative and persistent efforts in helpseeking were the themes identified. Within the domain of safe social spaces, social exclusion was harsh and prevalent for PPSD, with contrasting sub-domains of belonging, social support, social participation and ahimsa (non-violence). Women were disadvantaged more than men in most spheres of caregiving. Social determinants of depression with an adjusted odds ratio of more than 2.0 included being a member of the most oppressed caste or tribal group, having taken a recent loan, and not completing primary schooling. The prevalence of depression was 6.0% in the community sample, and there was a 100% treatment gap for counselling, and a 96% treatment gap for anti-depressant therapy, even though 79% of those with depression had visited a primary care provider in the previous three months. Social determinants of health and access to care are proposed as additional domains of community mental health competency. The prevailing gender regime that values males and disadvantages women influenced every domain of community mental health competency, particularly increasing caregiver burden, social exclusion and experiences of physical violence for women.  Conclusions In this thesis I have refined and strengthened a conceptual framework that portrays community mental health competence as a tree, where foundational roots of social determinants of mental health support four branches depicting access to care, knowledge, safe social spaces and partnerships for action. This tree model proposes that all five domains must operate in unison to support action for community mental health involving: development of community knowledge; promoting social inclusion, gender equality and participation; addressing upstream health determinants; and increasing access to mental health care.

Bakgrund: Behovet av palliativ vård ökar i takt med att befolkningen blir allt äldre och många patienter som är i en palliativ fas väljer att vårdas hemma den sista tiden i livet. Detta lägger ett stort ansvar på närstående som får en essentiell roll inom den palliativa vården och får agera som närståendevårdare. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva närståendevårdares upplevelser av att vårda en palliativt sjuk person i hemmet. I litteraturstudien har även de inkluderade artiklarnas undersökningsgrupp beskrivits. Metod: Föreliggande studie var en beskrivande litteraturstudie baserad på 12 vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ och kvantitativ ansats. Materialet inhämtades genom databassökningar i Cinahl och Pubmed. Resultat: Det framkom 3 huvudteman i resultatet; negativa upplevelser av att vara närståendevårdare i hemmet, Positiva upplevelser av att vara närståendevårdare i hemmet och Upplevelser av stöd från hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal. De negativa upplevelserna orsakades på grund av för stort ansvarstagande, ensamhet, påverkan på vardagslivet och brist på stöd. Positiva upplevelser var att de fick en fördjupad relation, att det var en meningsfull uppgift och att närståendevårdarna fick en förändrad syn på livet. Stöd från sjuksköterskan var viktigt för hur närstående upplevde situationen. Brist på stöd och kommunikation bidrog till en sämre upplevelse medan adekvat stöd och uppmärksamhet från sjuksköterskan underlättade situationen och gjorde upplevelsen mer positiv. Slutsats: Det är av stor betydelse att sjuksköterskan i den palliativa vården uppmärksammar och ger stöd till patienten och deras närstående. Genom adekvat stöd till närståendevårdare kan negativa upplevelser förminskas och fokus kan läggas på positiva aspekter av vårdgivarupplevelsen. / Background: The need of palliative care continues to increase due to the fact that the aging population is getting larger and many palliative patients choose to recieve care at home the final stages of life. This gives a major responsibility to the relatives that takes on an essential role in the palliative care and acts as an informal caregiver for the patient. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe relatives experiences of being a family caregiver for a person at the end of life. The included articles study sample is going to be analyzed in this study. Methodology: The present study is a descriptive literature study based on 12 scientific articles with both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The material was gathered through searches of the databases Cinahl and MEDLINE. Results: Three major themes appeared in the result; negative experiences with being a family caregiver at home, positive experiences with being a family caregiver at home and experiences of support from health care professionals. The negative experiences were caused due to overwhelming responsibility, loneliness, the effect on every day life and the lack of support. Positive aspects was a deeper relationship and a meaningful experience and also a changed view on life. The support from the nurse was important to how family caregivers experienced the situation, a lack of support and poor communication contributed to a negative experience while adequate support and attention from the nurse relieved the situation and made the experience more positive. Conlusions: In palliative care it is important that the nurse gives support and attention to the patient and the relatives. The negative experienes can be reduced by giving the family caregiver adequate support and more focus can be placed on the positive aspects of the caregiver experience.

Introduktion: Idag finns det ungefär 160 000 personer i Sverige som har någon form av demens, och risken att drabbas utav demens ökar med stigande ålder. Alzheimers är den vanligaste formen av demenssjukdom. Personer som befinner sig tidigt i sin Alzheimers utveckling klarar sig relativt bra med ett begränsat stöd från sin omgivning. Att vårda sin närstående med Alzheimers är krävande, och det ställs stora krav på den som är omvårdnadsansvarig. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att beskriva anhörigvårdares upplevelse av att vårda sin närstående som lever med diagnotiserad Alzheimers sjukdom. Syftet är också att beskriva de valda artiklarnas undersökningsgrupper. Metod: En beskrivande litteraturstudie. Data har samlats in via PubMed och 10 artiklar valdes ut till denna litteraturstudie. Artiklarna var av antigen kvalitativ eller kvantitativ ansats. Resultat: Resultatet baseras på fem underrubriker utifrån anhörigvårdarnas upplevelser: "Upplevselsen av den psykiska påfrestningen", "brist på stöd och information", "upplevelsen av att vårda sin närstående utifrån ett genusperspektiv", "livsstilsförändringar" och "förväntningar och farhågor". Slutsats: Anhörigvårdarna är i stort behov av stöd och rådgivning både från sin sociala omgivning, men framförallt ifrån sjukvårdens olika institutioner. Sjuksköterskan har en viktig roll att fylla. Sjuksköterskan ska tillgodose både den som är drabbad utav Alzheimers, men även dennes anhöriga med individanpassad information och stöttning. / Introduction: Today, there are about 160 000 people in Sweden who have some form of dementia, and the risk out of dementia increases with age. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. Persons who are early in their development of Alzheimer cope relatively well with limited support from their surroundings. Caring for relatives with Alzheimer's are demanding, and it places great demands on the care that is responsible. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the experience of family caregivers for their relatives who live with diagnosed Alzheimer's disease. The aim is also to describe the selected articles study groups. Method: A descriptive literature. Data was collected via PubMed and 10 articles were selected for this study. The articles were of either qualitative or quantitative approach. Results: The results are based on five sub-headings based on family caregivers: "Feels notification of mental stress", "lack of support and information", "the experience of caring for their loved one from a gender perspective", "lifestyle changes" and "expectations and concerns". Conclusion: family caregivers are in great need of support and advice both from their social environment, but above all from different healthcare institutions. The nurse has an important role to play. The nurse will satisfy both the afflicted out of Alzheimer's, but also his family with personalized information and jacking.

The vast majority of persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias live at home and are cared for by families or close friends/neighbors. An essential element to daily care decisions is the caregiver’s appraisal of function in the family member with dementia. This dissertation comprises three separate papers exploring caregiver appraisal of functional capacity, using secondary data from a study conducted at Thomas Jefferson University of 88 patient-caregiver dyads, funded by the Alzheimer’s Association (L. Gitlin, PhD, principal investigator; Grant # IIRG-07-28686). The caregivers were primarily female (88.6%), white (77.3%), and spouses (55.7%), with a mean age of 65.8. All caregivers had a high school education or higher and had provided care from 6 months to 22 years. The majority of the participants with dementia were female (52.3%) and white (76.1) with a mean age of 81.7. Their scores on the MMSE ranged from 10 to 28 (M = 17.7, SD = 4.6, N = 87). The first paper examined construct and interrater reliability of the Functional Capacity Card Sort (FCCS), a tool designed to measure subjective caregiver appraisal. Using spearman’s rank correlations the FCCS was found to be statistically associated with the Caregiver Assessment of Function and Upset scale (r = .43, p < 0.0001, N = 86) and not statistically associated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory scale (r = -.14, p = .16, N = 86), supporting convergent and discriminant validity respectfully. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance revealed a strong agreement among caregivers in the ranking of the six cards of the FCCS, Kendall W (5, 72) = 0.83, p = .0001, supporting interrater reliability of the FCCS. The second and third paper demonstrated the utility of the FCCS in distinguishing three groups of caregivers based on their estimation of functional capacity in the person with dementia compared to a gold standard occupational therapy assessment. Fifty-two (61%) of the caregivers overestimated function, 19 (22%) caregivers underestimated function, and 15 (17%) were concordant with the standardized assessment. Further analysis explored personal and home environment factors in relation to caregiver appraisal. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed cognitive status in the person with dementia (H (2, N = 85) = 3.67, p = .16) and caregiver depressive symptoms (H (2, N = 86) = 1.35, p = .51) were not associated with the caregiver’s appraisal of functional capacity in the person with dementia. Linear regression and proportional odds logistic regression, adjusted for cognitive status in the person with dementia, did not reveal a relationship between caregiver appraisal and the number of observed home hazards [F (1, N = 86) = .01, p = .94] or the unmet needs reported by the caregiver [Wald χ2 (1, N = 86) = .95, p = .33], respectively. Linear regression showed a trend towards the hypothesis that caregiver concordant/underestimation of functional capacity have greater home adaptations compared to caregiver overestimation [F (1, N = 86) = 3.06, p = .08]. The papers in totality demonstrate the utility of the FCCS to assess caregiver appraisal and interpret level of estimation, which can guide the therapeutic approach and treatment plan by an occupational therapist or other health professional. Further understanding of caregiver appraisal and associated factors is critical to providing best practice in dementia care. Limitations and future directions for research are discussed.

Four hundred fifty-six (456) members of the Association for Play Therapy responded to the researcher-developed survey, the Play Therapists' Decision-Making Inventory-Revised (PTDI-R). The instrument assessed play therapists’ perceptions of the role of attachment in the treatment process, the frequency with which play therapists feel competent to use family-systems play therapy, and the frequency with which they utilize these interventions. Items from the PTDI-R were analyzed using a principal component analysis to assess the underlying structure of six items that addressed participants’ frequency of use of FSPTI relative to their understanding of the attachment relationship. This factor accounted for 45% of the variance between the 6 survey items. These items from the PTDI-R were combined into one variable for use in the analysis of the remaining research questions. Using this enhanced dependent variable representing frequency of use of FSPTI by play therapists, three multiple regression models were built. Of these, the third model had the most power, explaining 65% of the variance in the dependent variable. When examining the relationships between play therapists’ demographic variables, beliefs about attachment, and play therapy practice patterns, significant relationships were identified among all but one set of variables. The results of this study supported the need for required play therapy education that applies family systems approaches to address attachment dysfunction in the caregiver-child relationship. Findings resulted in training and education recommendations to play therapists, counselor education programs, and the play therapy credentialing body.

Il presente elaborato si colloca entro l’area di ricerca sull’invecchiamento patologico, con particolare riferimento al paziente con diagnosi di demenza moderata e grave e al relativo caregiver; tema centrale è la qualità della vita dei due membri della diade paziente/familiare, e la necessità di diversificare e arricchire l’attività psicologica entro i contesti di ricovero a lungo termine in favore di un miglioramento del benessere della diade stessa. A tale scopo, il lavoro si articola in due studi distinti: nel primo, si propone un intervento di stimolazione musicale individualizzata diretta al paziente con diagnosi di demenza moderata o grave, nel secondo un intervento di reminiscenza che ha come target il familiare. La tesi si articola in tre sezioni: la prima è una cornice teorica di riferimento, la seconda e la terza espongono rispettivamente il primo e il secondo studio sperimentale. Il primo capitolo ha lo scopo di fornire un quadro teorico e empirico aggiornato in merito al tema dell’invecchiamento. Inizialmente viene trattata la questione della “Ageing Society” da un punto di vista globale, delineando nel corso del capitolo le caratteristiche e le criticità legate all’invecchiamento patologico e alla sua gestione entro il Sistema Sanitario Nazionale, con particolare interesse verso la realtà delle Residenze Sanitario-Assistenziali (RSA), contesto entro il quale si sono svolti i due lavori di ricerca proposti. Si tocca infine il tema dell’intervento non farmacologico diretto al paziente. In una seconda parte è descritta la prospettiva del familiare, il concetto di burden e il ruolo della relazione pregressa tra paziente e caregiver da un punto di vista teorico; segue la descrizione degli interventi non farmacologici diretti al caregiver finora proposti in letteratura, ideati allo scopo di alleviare stress legato al ruolo di cura e alle sue implicazioni. Il secondo capitolo ha lo scopo di esporre il primo studio della tesi, che si è occupato di verificare l’efficacia di un intervento di ascolto musicale individualizzato sulla qualità della vita di pazienti con diagnosi di demenza moderata o grave. Per questo motivo, si sono prima di tutto descritti i sintomi comportamentali della demenza, con particolare riferimento alla agitazione psicomotoria e al suo ruolo di indice dello stato psicologico del paziente con deficit cognitivi avanzati. Nella sezione empirica del capitolo viene descritta nei dettagli la modalità di intervento selezionata, gli obiettivi dello studio e i risultati ottenuti in base alla misurazione pre-post delle variabili di outcome selezionate e al confronto tra gruppo sperimentale e gruppo di controllo. Il terzo capitolo tratta il secondo studio del lavoro di tesi, che ha indagato l’efficacia di un intervento di reminiscenza sulla qualità della vita percepita dai familiari di pazienti con diagnosi di demenza afferenti alla RSA Monsignor Bicchierai – Istituto Auxologico Italiano di Milano. Allo scopo di motivare le ragioni della scelta di questa modalità di intervento, si sono descritte le premesse teoriche della teoria della reminiscenza e le sue potenzialità come forma di approccio al paziente anziano; l’idea dello studio è stata quella di applicare tale modalità di intervento sul caregiver, allo scopo di alleviare il burden percepito conseguente al carico pratico e emotivo che la cura della persona cara comporta. Analogamente al secondo capitolo, segue la sezione empirica dello studio, con un esteso approfondimento metodologico e la descrizione e discussione dei risultati ottenuti. Una sezione finale avrà lo scopo di proporre riflessioni e spunti clinici emersi da entrambi gli studi, entro una visione globale della presa in carico della diade paziente/caregiver. / This research thesis refers to pathological aging, with a particular focus on the patient with a diagnosis of dementia and his/her caregiver. The intended central theme is the patient and the caregiver’s quality of life, assuming them as a dyad; the work also concentrated on the need to diversify and enrich the psychological offer within the context of long-term hospitalization. To this end, it is divided into two separate studies. In the first one, we propose an individualized musical intervention directed to the patient with a diagnosis of moderate or severe dementia; in the second the effcacy of a reminiscence intervention that targets the family member is tested. The thesis consists of three separate sections: the first is a theoretical frame, the second and the third expose the first and the second experimental study respectively. The first chapter aims at providing an updated theoretical and empirical framework on the subject of aging. The problem of the "Aging Society" is firstly discussed; among the chapter the characteristics and the critical issues related to pathological aging and its management are debated. This topic requested a deepening into the features of the italian National Health System, with a particular focus on the reality of Nursing Homes (RSA), within which the two proposed research works were carried out. Finally, the topic of non-pharmacological intervention directed to the patient is treated. The second part describes the caregivers’ perspective, the concept of burden and the role of the prior relationship between patient and caregiver: in order to act on the stress related to the role of care and its implications, non-pharmacological interventions directed to the caregiver according to scientific literature are described. The second chapter objective is to display the first study, which aimed at testing the effectiveness of an individualized music listening intervention on the quality of life of patients diagnosed with moderate or severe dementia. For this reason, the behavioral symptoms of dementia (BPSD) were first described, with particular reference to agitation and its role as an index of the psychological state of the patient with advanced cognitive impairment. In the empirical section of the chapter the intervention is carefully described, together with the objectives of the study and the results obtained based on the pre-post measurement of the selected outcome variables and the comparison between the experimental group and the control group. The third chapter deals with the second study of the thesis work, which investigated the effectiveness of a reminiscence intervention on the caregivers’ perceived quality of life; they belonged to the RSA Monsignor Bicchierai - Italian Auxologic Institute of Milan. In order to support the choice of this modality of intervention, the theoretical premises and its potential use as a form of treatment for dementia patients have been described; the seminal idea of the study was to apply this kind of intervention on the caregiver, in order to relieve the burden resulting from the practical and emotional load requested. Similarly to the second chapter, the empirical section of the study follows, with an extensive methodological study together with a description of the obtained results. A final section had the purpose to think over the clinical ideas emerged from both studies, viewing the dyad patient-caregiver as a single care recipient.