ABSTRACT
The Japanese version of Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST-J) was developed in 2013. In this chapter, we describe dementia care in Japan including the need for CST in this setting, and the process of the development of CST-J. We present the findings of a controlled clinical trial of the adapted intervention (Yamanaka et al., 2013), evaluation of its impact on specific areas of cognitive function using previous data, and a study of carers’ development as co-facilitators. The controlled clinical trial showed that CST-J could improve cognition, mood, and aspects of quality of life (QoL) of people with dementia in care settings. In terms of specific areas of cognitive function, orientation, calculation, construction, and judgement significantly improved in those participating in the intervention. The study of carers’ growth showed that session-by-session, carers acquired more techniques to facilitate participants and improved their own self-efficacy. Moreover, their self-efficacy improved from pre to post-intervention. This chapter concludes with an outline of the benefits and challenges of implementing CST-J, and the future direction of the intervention in Japan.
