Creative processes to bring out expressions of spirituality: Working with people who have dementia

What's it like to be diagnosed with dementia? For more than a decade, as nurse and priest, I have walked on a journey into dementia with Christine Bryden, starting soon after her diagnosis. Dementia is still a feared condition and perhaps fear is one of the greatest barriers to living a quality life for those who have dementia. Too often people with dementia are shut off from others in the community and may be even isolated within their own families. It was this factor that really struck me when I began working with Christine. She was the first person that I had really been able to talk with openly about dementia. Previously, I had found that often barriers seemed to exist between the person with dementia and others. Working with Christine challenged me to research the experience of dementia for others as well, with the major questions, such as how can we assist people with dementia to find meaning in their experiences. How can we affirm their personhood?