Interventions for confusion and dementia. 2: Reality orientation

This article, the second of a five-part series exploring interventions for confusional states, discusses reality orientation (RO). For many decades, this form of intervention has been widely used and accepted as a way of reducing symptoms of confusion. However, an argument against RO is that it makes the person a passive recipient and reinforces feelings of disempowerment. This article describes the development of RO, exploring its strengths and weaknesses. Literature on the subject is largely anecdotal and dated as RO has been largely superseded by the interventions discussed in later articles, e.g. reminiscence and validation therapy.