When late life brings a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease and early life brought trauma. A cognitive-analytic understanding of loss of mind.

This paper contrasts the loss of mind from the loss of brain cells in Alzheimer's Disease and other neurodegenerative conditions with the threats to one's mind from the mindlessness of others from a cognitive-analytic perspective. Case studies are presented that show how the therapeutic framework of Cognitive-Analytic Therapy (CAT: Ryle <BIBR>1990</BIBR>, <BIBR>1995</BIBR>, <BIBR>1997</BIBR>) can bring containment for both client and therapist for clients facing this dilemma, particularly when past trauma is potentially overwhelming. This is set in a dialogue with the pioneering work of Tom Kitwood (1990, 1995, 1997) in dementia care, in which Kitwood's thesis of the ‘malignant social psychology’ surrounding people with dementia is re-stated in terms of ‘reciprocal roles’ developed in Cognitive-Analytic Therapy. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]