Spiritual questions play an important role too in dementia care

18 December 2024

Especially in the first half of the disease process, people with dementia often self-consciously wrestle with a variety of spiritual questions, as they look for guidance in what is happening to them. Marc Haufe studied how they can be supported with practical insights and tools for professionals in dementia care. On 18 December, he defended his PhD thesis 'Between structure and mystery. Exploring the spiritual dimension of mild to moderate dementia care' at the University for Humanistic Studies.

The results of the study offer detailed insights into how the daily practice of spiritual care can be shaped using 3 models. Marc Haufe: ‘Very little research has been done on dealing with spiritual questions. Yet this is an important topic for people with dementia.’

• The Diamond model for spiritual conversation provides tools for ongoing conversation support for experienced spiritual struggles. It can help carers recognise and explore issues such as: struggles with faith and meaning, adaptability and competence, security and loss, with shifts in short- and long-term memory functions, and with self-confidence and self-esteem.
  
  
• The Topography for spiritual strength attunement offers tools to help people connect with what gives them strength. These can be strong fond memories that arise in sharing life stories, but also experiences of beauty , creativity and inspiration, which can be stimulated through (shared) activities and environments.
  
  
• The Panorama of spiritual care for people with mild to moderate provides an integrated overview of the spiritual dimension of early dementia care. This overview can help care and welfare organisations form a vision of what good spiritual care in early dementia can be.

Thesis

PhD Defense Marc Haufe, Wednesday 18 December, 3pm sharp.

This thesis was made possible in part by funding from ZonMw.

On 18 December, March Haufe defended his PhD thesis 'Between structure and mystery. Exploring the spiritual dimension of mild to moderate dementia care' at the University for Humanistic Studies.