THE CREATIVE USE OF GROUPS WITH ALZHEIMERS PATIENTS

The project to be described was sponsored by a National Institute of M ental Health (NIMH) grant. The purpose of the work was to demonstrate that group work services could enhance the quality of life of Alzheime r's patients. A chart outlining a prototype for this work was designed by the authors. This schema is applicable to work with patients with senile dementia disease other than Alzheimer's type. The paper will al so describe the patients served, the staffing of the program and the s ystems whose philosophy and structures supported the work that was don e.