A Time Capsule for Patients with Dementia?

Abstract

An individual who is approaching the end of a long life will often gain comfort from exploring his or her experiences in emotional and spiritual terms. This is widely recognized, and help is usually at hand for those wishing to address dilemmas relating to religion and values. However, this option will not be available to those who, because of dementia, have lost the ability to communicate on these matters. A caregiver or clinician may fail to grasp the experiences that hold religious and spiritual significance for the patient, and there has been little discussion of how mental health practitioners should address the issue. In this paper we present arguments that lead to the proposal for 'time capsules' whereby patients with early dementia can set down their thoughts and so exercise a degree of control over subsequent events.