A dementia diagnosis can rock a family’s world. The person who’s been diagnosed may feel shocked, scared or confused. For families and carers, there will be many questions about what the future holds.
For the person with dementia, it may be difficult to come to terms with what their illness means and how they can continue to live an independent, meaningful life while experiencing progressive memory loss.
For carers, they may wonder how they will cope with the gradual loss of the person they love, who one day will not recognise them or be able to communicate with them, this can be experienced as anticipatory grief. They may also face heart-breaking decisions about their relative’s future care.
Counselling can help to process the thoughts and emotions involved when someone is diagnosed with dementia.