Eighty percent of people with dementia are cared for by their relatives. Often, it is family members who look after a son, daughter, mother, or father.
Irritating behavior
Caregivers are often overwhelmed by unexpected situations or irritating behavior from their family members with dementia. As a result, they sometimes withdraw from social situations.
Intimate needs
Approximately a quarter of people with dementia exhibit increased intimate needs, which are often interpreted as sexual advances. Such behavior is often due to declining self-control and diminished social orientation.
Impact on family caregivers
Family caregivers who have experienced such behavior often withdraw from social situations. Reasons include shame and the fear that their loved ones' inappropriate behavior will be exposed in public. They frequently find it difficult to discuss their experiences with their ill relatives with other family members or professional care facilities. Often, they no longer leave their home environment with their loved ones. In support groups, they may not feel their problems are taken seriously.
New European Advisory and Information Project
As part of an Erasmus+ project, a counseling forum with a training program for family caregivers is currently being developed jointly in four European countries. The focus is on issues of intimacy and sexuality in the context of dementia, as well as on challenging and boundary-crossing behaviors that can occur in connection with the illness.
The project partner in Germany is the team from professore.de.
Prof. Dr. Peter Berger
Project management
info@professore.de
Prof. Dr. Andrea Berger-Klein
Project Manager
andrea@professore.de
The overall project is led by the Alzheimer Society Ireland in Dublin. Other project partners are Alzheimer Siedlce in Poland and Leyden Academy on Vitality and Aging in the Netherlands.
Your cooperation is required!
Family caregivers, care facilities, and organizations that provide forums for exchange are invited to share their current topics and questions.