Psychological therapies which are considered as potential treatments for dementia include
music therapy,
reminiscence therapy,
cognitive reframing for caretakers,
validation therapy, Interventions may be used in conjunction with pharmaceutical treatment and can be classified within behavior, emotion, cognition or stimulation oriented approaches. Research on efficacy is reduced.
Behavioral interventions Behavioral interventions attempt to identify and reduce the antecedents and consequences of problem behaviors. This approach has not shown success in the overall functioning of patients, but can help to reduce some specific problem behaviors, such as
incontinence. There is still a lack of high-quality data on the effectiveness of these techniques in other behavior problems such as
wandering.
Emotion-oriented interventions Emotion-oriented interventions include
reminiscence therapy,
validation therapy, supportive
psychotherapy, sensory integration or
snoezelen, and
simulated presence therapy. Supportive psychotherapy has received little or no formal scientific study, but some clinicians find it useful in helping mildly impaired patients adjust to their illness. Simulated presence therapy (SPT) is based on
attachment theories and is normally carried out playing a recording with voices of the closest relatives of the patient. There is preliminary evidence indicating that SPT may reduce
anxiety and
challenging behaviors. Finally, validation therapy is based on acceptance of the reality and personal truth of another's experience, while sensory integration is based on exercises aimed to stimulate
senses. There is little evidence to support the usefulness of these therapies.
Cognition-oriented treatments The aim of cognition-oriented treatments, which include reality orientation and
cognitive retraining is the restoration of
cognitive deficits. Reality orientation consists in the presentation of information about time, place or person in order to ease the understanding of the person about its surroundings and his place in them, for example using an orientation board. On the other hand, cognitive retraining tries to improve impaired capacities by exercitation of mental abilities. Both have shown some efficacy improving cognitive capacities, although in some works these effects were transient and negative effects, such as frustration, have also been reported.
Stimulation-oriented treatments Stimulation-oriented treatments include
art,
music and
pet therapies,
exercise, and any other kind of
recreational activities for patients. Stimulation has modest support for improving behavior, mood, and, to a lesser extent, function. Nevertheless, as important as these effects are, the main support for the use of stimulation therapies is improvement in the patient's daily life routines. Another study from 2010 by London College tested the efficacy of cognitive stimulation therapy. Participants were tested using an
MMSE to test their level of cognitive ability and determine whether they qualified to be included in the study. The participants had to have no other health problems allowing for the experiment to have accurate
internal validity. The results clearly showed that those who were given cognitive stimulation therapy did significantly better on all memory tasks than those that did not receive the therapy. Out of the eleven memory tasks that were given, ten of the memory tasks were improved by the therapeutic group. The study demonstrated that patients with dementia benefit significantly from CST. As in the 2006 study, In July 2015, the
Sheffield Health & Social Care NHS Foundation Trust and the
University of Sheffield in the UK undertook trials on the use of a robot seal from Japan in the management of distressed dementia patients. The seal, named "Paro", has some
artificial intelligence and can "learn" its own name and repeat behaviours. == Psychological approaches to neuropsychiatric symptoms ==