Doll Therapy May Help Calm Agitation in Patients With Dementia

Introducing life-like dolls into dementia care may offer more than comfort—it could help calm agitation and ease distress. A new study presented at the American Psychiatric Nurses Association 39^th Annual Conference (APNA 2025), held from October 15 to 18, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana, suggests that doll therapy shows promise in reducing agitation-related symptoms among patients with dementia, highlighting a simple yet powerful approach to improving quality of life in long-term care settings.

Agitation is the third most common neuropsychiatric symptom observed in patients with dementia, with 30% of patients exhibiting these symptoms; the frequency increases to 80% among patients living in nursing facilities,¹ according to Travis Bowman, BSN, and Tanna McKinney, DNP, NEA-BC during a poster presentation at APNA 2025.²

After nonpharmacologic options are used for patients with dementia who demonstrate symptoms of agitation, medications for behavioral and physiological symptoms may be administered as needed if agitation is causing the patient significant distress.³ Despite these treatment options, psychiatric nurses in a geropsychiatric unit noticed the need for alternative methods to calm agitation in patients with dementia.

Life-Like Doll Therapy

To address the continued unmet need in this patient population, Bowman and Dr McKinney of University of Kentucky Health Care, implemented a doll therapy program to reduce the need for pharmacologic treatment of agitation. Life-like baby dolls were distributed to participants along with accessories such as baby clothes, pacifiers, and rattles to increase engagement.

By reducing agitation and the need for additional medication, [doll therapy] promotes a more patient-centered, therapeutic environment while improving overall quality of care for individuals with neurocognitive disorders.

The nurses organized group plans and activities for each unit, with daytime and nighttime doll routines scheduled for participants. Group sessions were held 3 times a week for 2 hours a day.

Of the 8 participants in the initial cohort, 5 had consistent participation in the program (3 women and 2 men). One female participant exhibited a strong attachment to her doll and insisted on having her doll at all times. Interactions between participants and dolls included patting, cooing, swaddling, and discussing dolls with peers. 

Change in agitation level was measured using the Pittsburgh Agitation Scale, with measurements taken before doll therapy and 2 weeks after its implementation. These results were not added to the poster.

Reduction Seen in Medication for Agitation

Nurses tracked the number of times oral or intramuscular interventions were administered to patients for agitation during the months of participation in this program (April and May). In April, 11 oral medications and 3 intramuscular interventions were administered among the 5 participants with consistent involvement in the program. In May, there were 4 instances of oral medication use for agitation and no intramuscular interventions among these participants.³ 

This initiative underscores the importance of nurse-led, innovative treatment programs in the psychiatric mental health field. “By reducing agitation and the need for additional medication, this approach promotes a more patient-centered, therapeutic environment while improving overall quality of care for individuals with neurocognitive disorders,” the study authors stated.

This article originally appeared on Clinical Advisor