The data sought to capture the views of people living with dementia before and after their experience of therapeutic counselling to assess their experience of the therapeutic process. Therapist, supervisor and managerial perspectives on therapy provision were also gathered following the counselling intervention. The data comprises transcripts of pre and post-qualitative interviews with counselling participants (n=4); post-intervention qualitative interviews with the therapists who delivered the counselling intervention (n=2) and with their counselling supervisor (n=1); post-intervention qualitative interview with the care home manager of the residential care home where three of the counselling interventions took place. Also included are reflective diaries (n=36) written by the therapists following each counselling session.Counselling People with Dementia was a one-year feasibility study (Sept 2021 – Aug 2022) funded by a Healthy Ageing Catalyst Award (United Kingdom Research Institute) to test an accessible, community-based, counselling model to help meet the emotional health and well-being needs of people living with dementia. Market research was also carried out and a film made of the key findings. The study comprised part two of a proposed three-stage programme. The first stage included a systematic literature review and interviews with people living with dementia, carers and therapists to establish their views on counselling and what they might look for in a counselling service. Results highlighted a gap in emotional support and pointed to a need for tailored, community-based, professional counselling. People living with dementia and informal carers talked about the benefits of local, flexible counselling across the dementia timeline, delivered through accessible, community venues. In this study (extended to Jan 2023 due to delays with recruitment and data collection) we learned that people living with dementia are interested in, and can gain benefit from, speaking about their emotional needs with a trained counsellor. The therapeutic space offered a safe container for participants to process difficult feelings and to support the re-emergence of a person’s experience of self as a meaningful adult. Therapists expressed the value of working in this context. The need for specific counsellor training in dementia awareness and the ability to draw on different skills was emphasised along with frequent supervision to promote and sustain counsellor confidence.

In this study, our purpose was to recruit a small number of participants and counsellors to feasibility test the suitability of our research methods. We recruited people at the mild and moderate stages of their dementia illness who were able to communicate personal experiences (refer to the participant inclusion file attached). Participants were recruited through adverts posted across local dementia networks including care homes and local dementia services. Counsellors were recruited through the University of Edinburgh and Crossreach. We also advertised via the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) website. The data sought to capture the views of people living with dementia before and after their experience of therapeutic counselling to assess their experience of the therapeutic process. Therapist, supervisor and managerial perspectives on therapy provision were also gathered following the counselling intervention: • Semi-structured, in-depth qualitative, audio-recorded interviews with participants (people with dementia) pre and post-counselling intervention. These lasted between 30-40 minutes. • Post-intervention, semi-structured, in-depth qualitative, audio-recorded interviews with service counsellors; counselling supervisor; and, care home manager. These lasted approximately 1 hour. • Counsellor journaling to document notes on their experience – 30 mins following each counselling intervention was allocated for this purpose Most of the data was professionally transcribed verbatim by 1st Class Transcription services although the primary researcher (GM) also transcribed some of the audio files. GM checked and edited all the transcribed files against the original audio recordings ensuring the anonymity of the interview participants. The data files were then prepared for analysis.