Changes related to dementia or a new diagnosis can bring many emotions. Clients have expressed confusion, relief, fear, sadness, anger, or uncertainty about the future. Counselling can offer a safe, respectful space to talk, reflect, and feel heard. I offer support for:
Individuals living with a type of neurocognitive impairment in the early stages of their experience
(e.g., Mild Cognitive Impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular dementia, young onset dementia)Individuals in the process of receiving a diagnosis or adjusting to a new diagnosis.
Individuals of any age living with dementia.
Processing emotions after a diagnosis.
Maintaining a sense of identity and self-worth.
Coping with changes in memory, relationships, or independence.
Reducing anxiety and emotional distress.
Finding meaning, connection, and calm.
Exploring values in personal planning and living with dignity.
“…When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”
— Kahlil Gibran, from “On Joy and Sorrow” in The Prophet (1923)
This is a quote from one of my favourite poems which, for me, acknowledges the “both/and” of life. This comes up a lot in my conversations with clients as it relates to dementia where we explore the “grey”: the joy and the sorrow, the guilt and the grief, the starting and the stopping, the love and the loss.