Dyadische Gruppenpsychotherapie bei demenzieller Entwicklung

At the beginning of the development of dementia, the relationship with the closest relatives often changes in an unfavorable direction. At this point, people with dementia and their relatives can be treated together on an equal basis by means of dyadic interventions. Thus, the course for successfully coping with the dementia-related changes in everyday life can be set.

Based on dyadic interventions in general, the aim of this work is to provide background knowledge on dyadic psychotherapeutic group interventions for the beginning of dementia and to summarize the current evidence.

A literature search was conducted on dyadic group psychotherapy for the beginning of dementia and the current evidence was narratively summarized.

Dyadic group interventions are currently characterized by considerable heterogeneity in terms of rationale and content. The outcome measures used in the studies also vary enormously. Purely psychotherapeutic dyadic group interventions still play a minor role alongside psychosocial interventions, such as music, movement and art-based approaches. Nevertheless, the results provide cause for optimism that dyadic group interventions can be effective.

For dyadic psychotherapeutic group interventions to be recommended as evidence-based approaches and to confirm the added value compared to psychosocial and individual approaches, they need to be better conceptualized. This conceptual work is necessary to develop effect factors and impact models that can be evaluated in randomized controlled studies with meaningful follow-up observational periods.