Returning to a familiar place: virtual reality and reminiscence therapy

There is a feature of dementia that surprises those facing it for the first time: the most recent memory fades first, while the oldest often remains. A person may not recognize the room where they slept last night, yet describe in detail the house where they grew up seventy years ago. It is this enduring memory — autobiographical memory — that reminiscence therapy works with.

What reminiscence therapy is

Reminiscence is one of the most established non-pharmacological approaches in supporting older people and those with dementia. The idea is simple: use cues from the past — a song, a photograph, a smell, a place — to evoke recollections and, with them, emotion, conversation and connection.

The goal is never to "test" whether the person remembers. It's the opposite: to offer them ground where memory is still firm, where they feel capable and recognized. Documented benefits include improved mood, reduced agitation, and a stronger sense of identity and belonging.

Why virtual reality takes reminiscence further

Traditionally, reminiscence relies on photographs, albums and objects. These are valuable tools — but static. Virtual reality adds the missing dimension: that of being there.

Returning to a place is different from seeing it in a picture. When someone with reduced mobility, who hasn't left a care home in years, "walks" again through the square of their village, the church where they married, or along the sea of their hometown, the recollection activates more fully. Immersion engages attention completely and gives the brain rich sensory cues — exactly the kind of trigger that old memory recognizes.

For many, it is also a reunion with places they can no longer visit physically. Virtual reality gives that access back.

The place has to be the right place

Here is a point that makes all the difference and is easy to underestimate: the content has to be culturally close. A beautiful generic landscape may relax, but it doesn't evoke memory. What evokes memory is recognition — "this is my town," "I know this place."

For a Portuguese person, returning to a familiar place in their own country — a city they know, a sanctuary they made a pilgrimage to, a beach where they spent summers — carries an emotional weight no image from another continent can match. Cultural and geographic relevance isn't a detail: it's what separates a pleasant experience from a true reunion.

That's why it makes sense to build content libraries rooted in the reality of the people who will see them.

How to use it well

Virtual reality in reminiscence works best when it is shared, not solitary. A few practical principles:

• Choose the place with the person (or the family). Knowing which places shaped someone's life is the first step. A place with personal history is worth more than the most spectacular scenery.
• Be present. The greatest value lies in the conversation the experience sparks. Reminiscence is a moment of connection, not a screen to keep someone occupied.
• Short, calm sessions. The aim is comfort and positive evocation, without fatigue or over-stimulation.
• Watch the reaction. Not every memory is a happy one. Choose places tied to positive recollections, stay alert to signs of distress, and stop if needed.

A tool of dignity

Ultimately, reminiscence therapy with virtual reality isn't about technology. It's about recognizing that, even as the illness advances, the person is still there — with their history, their places, their identity. Taking them back to a place they love, even for a few minutes, is a way of telling them that their story still matters.

It's a simple, powerful reminder: behind a diagnosis there is always a whole life — and that life has an address.

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