Psychosocial Intervention in Long-Term Care

An Advanced Guide

The responsibility of providing mental health evaluations and treatment to nursing home patients is increasingly falling on the shoulders of social services and nursing staff. Psychosocial Intervention in Long-Term Care provides the advanced techniques you, as a caregiver, need for assessing and intervening with psychosocial and behavioral problems in LTC. Targeted to students and staff who are familiar with the basic needs and problems of LTC residents, this book also describes effective ways of documenting assessments and interventions to help you integrate results into the medical record and prepare for state surveys.

Psychosocial Intervention in Long-Term Care presents you with information about common mental disorders in LTC, basic counseling techniques, and the three major types of psychiatric medication. You’ll also read about legal issues in the psychosocial arena and learn how to avoid burnout while working in LTC. Best of all, this book shows you how to:

• use the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Mini Mental Status Exam to screen for depression and dementia

• design thorough behavioral assessments through use of a tracking grid

• use results of assessments to set up effective behavioral interventions

• intervene with specific psychosocial problems, such as aggression

• document the results of assessments

• develop effective Resident Assessment Inventories

• prepare for state surveys and develop plans of correction in response to surveys

  Whether you’re a graduate student or new practitioner in social work, nursing, or health care administration, you’ll appreciate this book’s practical, hands-on approach to problem solving and its focus on the biopsychosocial model. Only through a thorough assessment of residents’physical, psychological, and social needs can we design effective intervention and provide the care they deserve.