BPSD – Older Adults and Care Partners

Clinical Guidelines

Discover the guidelines on Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD).

For Health Care Professionals

Find clinical tools and resources to support your patients or clients.

With support, people with dementia can lead active and fulfilling lives.

Dementia is a chronic brain (or neurocognitive) disorder that causes changes in a person’s memory, thinking, moods and behaviours. These changes often start small and worsen over time due to ongoing damage happening within the brain.

Key Facts:

Types of dementia

Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD)

People with dementia will experience changes in their moods and behaviours.
These changes are called behaviours in dementia. Other terms that are used to
describe this are the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia
(BPSD) or responsive behaviours. Behaviours can be an attempt to communicate discomfort and distress when people with dementia have difficulty expressing their physical and emotional needs or making sense of their environment.

It may be expressed as:

Depression
Restlessness
Anxiety
Hoarding
Yelling
Disorientation
Explicit Sexual Behaviour
Shadowing
Hallucinations
Apathy
Disturbed sleep
Anger
Delusions

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Do you support someone experiencing changes in mood or behaviour related to dementia?

The Behaviours in Dementia Toolkit is a brand-new online library of over 300 free, practical resources that can help you better understand and compassionately respond to dementia-related changes in mood or behaviour.

Discover Our Resources

Not sure where to begin?

front cover of a brochure with CCSMH branding. there is a large purple diamond coming from the left top corner with white text that reads "Understanding Behaviours in Dementia" There is a large photo of an older man and woman looking at the camera smiling. They have brown skin and the woman has dark hair, the man is bald.

Download our brochure to learn more about the Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) and share it with your colleagues, friends and family.

Download the BPSD brochure

Order Print Copies

Download this infographic to better understand the behaviours in dementia by using the ABC Approach.

Download the BPSD infographic

ENG BPSD One pager for OACP_Image for Web

Discover key takeaways presented in the clinical guidelines

Would you like to know more about key information presented in the Canadian clinical guidelines for behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia? Print this infosheet to have the information on hand during your next visit with a health care provider.

Download the infosheet