Abstract
My first encounters with individuals with dementia as a young psychiatric nurse taught me valuable lessons. Through caring for patients with dementia, I learned that it is possible to communicate without using words and that a nurse’s (or caregiver’s) interventions can alleviate or even prevent problematic behaviors in individuals with dementia. In 2007, I was introduced to Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) through a publication by the International Psychogeriatric Association. This knowledge complemented and strengthened my experiential understanding as a nurse. My research demonstrates that psychiatric nursing interventions are effective when they take the core symptoms of dementia into account and focus on psychological and environmental factors.
