“…In 1993 the Department of Psychiatry of the Vrije Universiteit medical centre (VUmc) in Amsterdam developed a comprehensive support programme, which integrated different types of support that had been proven effective in practice and/or research, such as special activity programmes, psychosocial approaches and case management for the persons with dementia (Karlsson et al, 1985;Sandman et al, 1988;Dröes, 1991;Gibson, 1994;Woods, 1996;Dröes, 1997;Toseland et al, 1997;De Lange et al, 1999;Finnema et al, 2000), and informative meetings, discussion groups and a consulting hour for their carers (Lawton et al, 1989;Cuijpers, 1992;Knight et al, 1993;VernooijDassen et al, 2000;Acton and Kang, 2001). The support programme focuses on people with mild to moderate dementia who live in the community and their carers, and, besides information, aims to give them the practical, emotional and social support they need to cope with the consequences of dementia in their life.…”