ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the way in which psychoanalytic concepts can be applied to the area of dementia care. The first half focusses on the importance of the containment of despair for people with dementia and their families post diagnosis. The second half explores the importance of providing supervision and work discussion groups for staff in care homes working with people as a means of understanding and containing the complex emotional and physical demands they are dealing with every day. The Afterword highlights the impact of Covid-19 on people who are older, where the unthinking eye of the state in the early stages of the pandemic, and resultant devaluation of the needs of staff and residents in nursing and residential homes, led to a huge loss of life.
