The purpose of this paper is to briefly outline assessment and progression of Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) in afflicted individuals (i.e., care recipients [CRs]) and review relevant research concerning the effects of AD progression on caregivers (CGs) as they care for loved ones. With this background, consideration will be made of how these findings suggest relevant tenets of Existential therapy. The author will also identify implications that could be meaningful to mental health professionals in their efforts to assist CGs as they attempt to cope with the emotional impact this disease has on them during caregiving and after the eventual death of the CR.
The premise of this paper is that Existential Therapy (ET) is particularly well suited for this area of psychotherapy because of the salient issues involved and because ET concepts can be utilized within many psychotherapeutic approaches (Yalom, 1980)
