Life stage and human development in dramatherapy with people who have dementia

In Australia, as in other Western countries, respect for elders is being lost in the economic and political discourse over dementia and its perceived social and fiscal consequences. Because of 'gerontologists' value-dependent assumptions' (Tornstam 2005, p. 29), little is written about life-stage development for the elderly, even in dementia. This chapter advocates for sensitive use of developmental models, thereby avoiding the chance of 'othering' older people (Taussig 1980). The critique of the notion of autonomous existence through theories of inter-subjectivity and embodiment (Merleau-Ponty 1945/1962) lends weight to Taussig's warning, emphasising the value of the selfhood of people with dementia. Merleau-Ponty's interpretation of embodiment and inter-subjectivity seems to be missing from Kitwood's (1997) otherwise enlightened views of how personhood may be maintained in dementia in an interpersonal dimension (Kontos 2004, 2005).