Abstract
Three clinical case histories, representing scores of similar Alzheimer-type individuals with whom the author has worked since 1963, show that suppressed sexual behaviors emerge in late life when social controls recede. The old-old person enters a final Resolution phase; a struggle to express feelings, to be validated in order to die with self-respect. This article also presents specific Validation Therapy techniques that help relatives and professionals communicate with Alzheimer-type individuals who act out sexually. Caregivers who have used Validation have found that when sexual feelings are expressed and affirmed, they lose strength, dissipate, and the very old human is relieved.
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Executive Director, The Validation Training Institute, Inc.
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Feil, N. When feelings become incontinent: Sexual behaviors in the resolution phase of life. Sex Disabil 13, 271–282 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02590072
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02590072