The document Behaviour Management: A Guide to Good Practice, Managing Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) is a comprehensive overview of evidence and practice-based management principles for BPSD*.
This resource is designed for clinicians with a role in caring for people with dementia in residential aged care facilities (RACFs), community care and acute care settings. The BPSD Guide provides guidance for clinicians supporting family members and carers as well as RACF and community care staff caring for people with dementia who present with BPSD. Additional considerations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples and those from a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background with dementia are included.
This resource is free. Hard copies of the BPSD Guide are available from the BPSD team pending availability. Please email Kim Burns, or you can download as a pdf (191 pages). The BPSD Guide is supported by a set of eight appendices which are available in electronic format only. See links below.
An updated version of the BPSD Guide is currently in development. A Clinician’s BPSD Guide: Understanding and helping people experiencing changed behaviours and psychological symptoms associated with dementia (Clinician’s BPSD Guide, 2023). The Clinician’s Guide is due for release later this year.
*This terminology and abbreviation are used respectfully for communication between professionals supporting persons with dementia. For more information about consumer preferences on terminology, please consult the Dementia Language Guidelines produced by Dementia Australia.
