About the Author

Dr Chris Perkins (FRANZCP), author of The New Zealand Dementia Guide and Dementia: What you need to know a guide for people with dementia and their caregivers, trained at Otago Medical School and worked as a GP in Wellington and Thames, before training in psychiatry in Hamilton and Auckland.Since qualifying, Chris has worked mainly in old-age psychiatry in both the public and private sectors. She holds a Diploma of Professional Ethics, is Director of The Selwyn Centre for Ageing and Spirituality, and works part-time as a locum around New Zealand. Chris is chair of the National Dementia Cooperative (ndc.hiirc.org.nz/) and on the Board of Alzheimer's NZ. She has recently researched spiritual care in dementia units and continues to speak at conferences and other gatherings in New Zealand and overseas.