A Psychosocial Intervention for Managing Disinhibition in People With the Behavioral Variant of Frontotemporal Dementia: A Matter of Focusing

Management of disinhibited behavior in people with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia is challenging. To support health care professionals in long-term care, we developed "Focusing," a psychosocial intervention based on theory of automatic behavior, stimulus processing, and resident-staff interactions. The intervention was evaluated for feasibility and limited efficacy with a replicated single-case A-B observation study in 6 cases, and using questionnaires and interviews with health care professionals. The intervention was feasible in all cases and a decrease in disinhibited behavior was observed following the introduction of the intervention in 4 cases. Professionals deemed the intervention highly relevant, as they perceive disinhibition as a complex problem. These results form a foundation for larger-scale evaluation of effectiveness and show promise of the intervention for further implementation in clinical practice.