Supporting Bereavement of Someone with Dementia

At the time

It's generally said that at the time someone passes away a person in the early stages of dementia should be told and allowed to grieve, though this is unlikely to be the case in the later stages of dementia.

Later on

If someone with dementia is asking for a person who passed away a while ago, then it's definitely best not to say the person is dead - that will set them grieving afresh as if it's just happened.

There are a number of diverting strategies that can be tried instead - see our subsection 'where's a family member?', although be careful if the loss was recent and the person with dementia may really be looking for confirmation of what they (correctly) think they remember and you end up contradicting that.

Further information

For further information see:

See also

For your own bereavement see our section on bereavement support for you.

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