Person: Smith, Rachelle
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Email Address
Birth Date
Biography URL
https://www.husson.edu/directory/rachelle_smith
Term at University
2009-current
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Job Title
Professor, College of Science and Humanities
Last Name
Smith
First Name
Rachelle
Name
Degrees Held
Ph.D. Psychology, University of Maine
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Publication BENEFITS OF THERAPEUTIC LIES IN DEMENTIA CARE(2026-04-16) Johnson, Jayda; Smith, RachelleAlthough deception in healthcare is generally considered to be unethical, therapeutic lies are often used in dementia care, creating a controversial ethical dilemma. Given the frequent use of therapeutic lying by nurses, family members, and other healthcare professionals, I conducted a literature review to investigate the possible benefits of therapeutic lies in dementia care. I hypothesized that patients with dementia would benefit from therapeutic lies, primarily because such lies would reduce their distress. Studies were collected from databases from the Husson University Library, including Academic Search Ultimate, and the National Institute of Health. Participants in the studies reviewed included healthcare workers, family caregivers, and dementia patients. Eighty-eight percent of the studies examined demonstrated clear benefits associated with therapeutic lies. Specifically, despite ethical concerns regarding deception, these lies were found to help decrease distress and lessen agitation for people with dementia. Although one study emphasized the negative impacts of lying to patients with dementia, all other evidence showed that when used appropriately, therapeutic lies provided more psychological and health benefits than telling the truth. The advantages of using therapeutic lies with people with dementia was found to be situation-dependent. Such lies only provided benefits when the patient was unaware of the deception and when honesty would exacerbate distress. These results provide healthcare workers with insight into caring for their patients by using therapeutic lies and highlight the importance of context to ensure ethical behavior. Future research is needed to compare the psychological outcomes between patients who are exposed to therapeutic lying with those who are only told the truth. Additionally, given the empirical benefits of the use of therapeutic lies, guidelines need to be developed to help ensure cohesive and ethical use.