Book: Introduction
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4. Personhood in dementia
Personhood is another part of our Philosophy of Care in The Alzheimer Society of Ireland.
Personhood is a concept that is given to us by others in our society and in our relations e.g. we are ‘a father, a wife, a boss, a Reader at Mass, someone who walks her dog every day.’
Tom Kitwood (2007) defines personhood as “A status or standing bestowed on others” .
McCormack (2016) expands and says that there are 4 elements to Personhood
- Being in a social world: persons are social beings
- Being in Relation to others: persons exist in relationships with other persons
- Being in Place: persons have a context through which their personhood is articulated
- Being with Self: being recognised, respected and treated as a person impacts on a person’s sense of self.