ABSTRACT
Trauma can occur throughout life and can take many forms. Attachment to a caregiver has survival value and ensures the child's safety and security. Attachment behaviour occurs when safety and security are threatened, and includes searching, clinging to and calling out for the caregiver. For someone with dementia, experiencing loss can severely challenge their feelings of safety and security. Miesen has defined parent fixation to describe someone with dementia who believes one or both parents is alive when they have been dead for some years. Post-traumatic stress disorder has become increasingly recognised as a psychological consequence of war for service veterans and for many civilians living through war. The progressive cognitive impairments associated with dementia and the impact this has on the individual's abilities, social relationships and self-esteem can be very traumatic. It is important for staff working with people with dementia to have access to relevant information about an individual's history.
