Group reminiscence therapy for adults with dementia: a review

Dementia is an increasingly prevalent and costly condition in the UK. This review aims to explore the potential effectiveness of reminiscence group therapy as a non-pharmacological tool for reducing depressive symptoms commonly associated with dementia. The aim of this review is to explore existing literature regarding adults diagnosed with dementia, who are experiencing depressive symptoms, and the effect of reminiscence group therapy on their experience. A limited systematic search of four databases and hand search of titles, abstracts and reference lists revealed scarce evidence. A total of four original research articles, which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, were accepted for critical appraisal. The overall quality of the studies was poor and use of multiple data collection tools made comparison difficult. All studies obtained some significant findings in favour of the effect of reminiscence group therapy. The primary recommendation of this review is for further high-quality research.