Abstract
Even though only one person in the marital relationship is likely to have the diagnosis, demenita really has two victims-the inflicted spouse and the caregiver. Research on both these 'victims' to date, has been largely restricted to furthering an understanding of the issues from a medical and stress/burden perspective. Only limited attention has been given to addressing the psychodynamic issues which evolve in reaction to the disease process. These issues however, have important implications on service needs and utilization and warrant exploration. Self psychology offers a promising framework for doing this. The purpose of this article is to examine the impact of dementia on the marital unit using this theoretical perspective.