Dutch Home for
Dementia Sufferers Provides Simulation of Normal Life
John Minor Buddhistdoor
Global | 2016-07-07 |
Most of us tell white lies
at some point or another. In extreme cases, we find ourselves
simulating normality for someone whose psychological state is not
grounded in the everyday. A home for sufferers of extreme dementia
in The Netherlands has done exactly this. In 2009, Hogewey Care
Centre constructed “Hogeweyk” for dementia patients to enjoy their
lives in simulated normality while avoiding the issues that would
arise for them in the “normal” world.
Hogeweyk is a specially designed community with
23 houses for 152 dementia-suffering seniors, deliberately
constructed to function as a normal village. This “dementia
village” tries to reduce conflict and confusion by providing a
realistic yet “safe and non-threatening version of real life,”
according to Hogewey information officer, Isabel van Zuthem. (Nodes
of Ranvier)
According to the Hogeweyk website, residents
live in in homes of six to eight people based on lifestyle
preference and engage in everyday activities (such as washing and
cooking) with health workers in attendance, many of whom also live
in the village. Like any normal village, Hogeweyk has streets,
gardens, a park, and squares. The Hogeweyk supermarket offers
groceries, and there is also a restaurant, a theater, and a bar.
Marianne Cezza observed on her psychology blog, Nodes of Ranvier,
that there are no nurses in the village, but the health workers
assume fictional personas such as neighbors or shop workers to help
the residents function and stay safe. “For instance, if someone
were to forget to pay at the mini-market, shop assistants would
simply fix the payment with the health workers at the residential
apartments,” she explained.
The reasoning is that dementia patients
understandably become confused, upset, and frustrated to be
constantly told that their perception of the world is incorrect.
Reminding a patient of the “truth” of their circumstances could
actually do more harm than good. Hogewey prioritizes well-being
over “the truth,” although the simulated normality does not mean
that the village is fake or that everything is a prop, since the
amenities are real and functional. (Nodes of Ranvier)
Hogeweyk features seven different lifestyle
choices for residents, which correspondingly shape the aesthetic
and atmosphere of the home they live in: urban, artisan,
Indonesian, homey, Gooi (an imitation of a green, wealthy, and
historic neighborhood around Hilversum), traditional cultural, and
Christian. Related to this idea of simulated normality and
personalized surroundings is “reminiscence therapy,” which aims to
recreate former personal environments and aid dementia patients’
short-term memory by jogging their long-term memory through
familiar music and objects, such as photographs.
“It isn’t about lying to anyone. But if a
patient says they have to go and catch a bus, we can sit [with
them] at the bus stop and say: ‘Tell us about the buses you used to
catch,’ ” said Chris Taylor of Grove Care, a nursing home inspired
by Hogeweyk in Winterbourne, Bristol. (Nodes of Ranvier) In this
sense reminiscence therapy is not about facilitating an illusion,
but providing a therapeutic outlet for dementia patients who are
unable to function in the world.
Of course, this raises many ethical conundrums,
not the least of which is whether it is moral to fake normality.
Nodes of Ranvier asserts: “The idea is to view dementia
differently, giving the 35 million people worldwide who suffer from
dementia a chance to enjoy their current life more, rather than
emphasis [sic] the life they no longer have and even increasing
their distress and confusion.”
Since its founding, Hogeweyk has won or been
nominated for various awards due to its approach to caring for
dementia patients, including its unique design as a village
environment.