Psychotherapy, Nutrition, and Artificial Intelligence in Dementia Care: A Narrative Review and Thematic Synthesis

Abstract

To synthesize evidence from a predefined corpus on the roles of psychotherapeutic interventions, nutritional management strategies, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the holistic care of individuals with dementia. A narrative review with thematic synthesis of selected research articles, clinical guides, and technical papers was done. Sources were screened for relevance and bibliographic completeness, and findings were clustered into three domains. Psychotherapeutic approaches—including cognitive-behavioural, problem-focused, group, reminiscence, and mindfulness-based therapies—demonstrate the most consistent benefits for reducing depressive symptoms, with mixed effects on quality of life and acceptance. Nutritional management addresses a spectrum of eating and drinking challenges through caregiver-led environmental modification, dietary fortification, and adaptive strategies that promote safety and independence. AI applications are concentrated in early detection and research optimization (e.g., language and neuroimaging analysis), yet face barriers to clinical translation, including interpretability, generalizability, and potential bias. Psychotherapy and nutritional support are established pillars of non-pharmacological dementia care, while AI’s current role is primarily diagnostic and prognostic. Integration across these domains is limited. A promising opportunity is the use of AI-driven language analytics to objectively monitor psychotherapeutic outcomes. Future work should prioritize interpretable, generalizable AI and prospective studies that test multi-component care models.