Heather’s Story: Moving Forward Without Confrontation

Heather, a nurse, coped with changes due to her mother-in-law’s dementia by trying to understand and imagine the experience from her mother-in-law’s perspective. When her mother-in-law became agitated, and convinced that things were missing, Heather would take the time to listen and empathize with her feelings of loss. She would then move the focus of the conversation forward by suggesting they do something together, like having a cup of tea.