ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explains her setting and working role. She outlines some statistics about memory, ageing, and dementia, before talking about how dementia is diagnosed in the clinic in which her work, treatment options, issues about help-seeking and diagnosis, and finish with some thoughts about what psychiatrists could do better. The focus of the clinic is on diagnosis of cognitive disorders, particularly dementia, and particularly rare, inherited, and young-onset dementias, as well as what are thought of as more "typical" older adult dementias where memory loss is usually a key feature. Diagnostic criteria require that a history of progressive, insidious cognitive decline is obtained from both the patient and an informant who knows the patient well, and that an objective measure of function is also carried out, such as neuropsychological testing. There are a number of national guidelines recommending best practice in the diagnosis of dementia, and post-diagnostic support.
