WEEK 10 - UNIT V: PSYCHOSOCIAL CARE • All team members can listen and refer.

• Professional caregivers-chaplain, priest, psychologist,

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS: or social worker is needed for more intensive spiritual or
A. Introduction psychological interventions.
B. Psychosocial and spiritual care
C. Cognition and perception RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY
D. Coping and stress • Hope is an ongoing need throughout life.
E. Values and beliefs • Support depends on knowing what the resident or
family is hoping to achieve.
PSYCHOSOCIAL CARE • Listening to what the older person or family hopes for
• Encompasses both cognitive function and emotional and validating the feelings provides groundwork for
health. meaningful support.
• Calls for openness and sensitivity to feelings and • Religion and Spirituality are different.
emotional needs and the family. • Religion, according to Webster, is “belief in a divine or
• Caregiving typically combines clinical and nonclinical superhuman power or powers to be obeyed and
interventions. worshiped as the creator and ruler of the universe---”.
• Spirituality, according to Webster, is “of the spirit or
Emotional pain is the dimension of end of life care soul as distinguished from the body or material
that: matters.”
1. Causes the most suffering. • Spirituality explores the inner meaning of life now and
2. Is the most difficult to treat. after death.
3. Requires most interventions.
a) clinical PSYCHOSOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL CARE INTERVENTIONS
b) non-clinical • Basic caregiving involves listening.
• Professional caregiving involves listening and seeking
Symptoms associated with emotional and spiritual further explanation of “life stories involving fear, anger,
suffering: and other affective states”.
• Anxiety • Referral to other professionals frequently needed, i.
• Depression e., chaplain, psychologist, social worker
• Helplessness
• Aloneness IS PALLIATIVE CARE GIVING UP HOPE?
• Financial distress • Inability to cure physical disease does not necessarily
• Meaninglessness equate to lost hope.
• Need for forgiveness • Providers behaviors interpreted by patients as
• Fear of the unknown abandonment.
• Loss of important roles
• Conflicted relationships TYPES OF HOPE:
• Hopelessness • Physical healing
• Inability to enjoy/celebrate • Comfort
• Need to forgive • Personal growth
• Love
SPIRITUAL CARE • Reconciliation
• Older person are diverse in their spiritual needs. • Courage
• Facilities and caregivers are diverse in their ability to • Self-forgiveness
meet spiritual needs. • Fulfillment of one’s afterlife belief
• Some facility staff may feel uncomfortable or
inadequate in the role of meeting spiritual or PSYCHOSOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL CARE INTERVENTIONS
psychosocial needs. The following can be helpful:
• Put aside your tasks and offer your presence.
World Health Organization (WHO) • Arrange for a spiritual leader to visit if desired.
“Palliative care is the active total care of patients • Listen to stories or life reviews.
whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. • Allow expressions of anger, guilt, hurt and fear.
Control of pain, of other symptoms, and psychological, • Encourage to acknowledge these feelings, and then let
social, and spiritual problems is paramount.” them go.
• Avoid clichés like “It is God’s will.” Never say
SPIRITUAL CARE – RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY “Everything is going to be all right” or “You shouldn’t
• The search for peace and inner healing, replacing fear feel that way”.
and despair with hope and serenity. • Encourage to accept gratitude from others.
• Basic tenet is to view the individual as a whole being- • Identify what constitutes a “good death”.
physical, psychological, social, and spiritual being. • Identify specific rituals or ceremonies important to the
older person.
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• Identify cultural issues that affect the older person.
• Encourage the family to give to the older person
permission to let go, when appropriate.
• Explain that it is alright to cry; tears are normal and
show caring.
• Encourage expressions of affection.
• Be present if they want support.
• Listen to the last wishes and regrets.
• Communicate that what is happening is natural.
• Assist in reframing goals that are attainable and
meaningful.
• Help to identify relationships that need closure.
COGNITION AND PERCEPTION
• Perception is the ability to capture, process, and
actively make sense of the information that our senses
receive.
• It is the cognitive process that makes it possible to
interpret our surroundings with the stimuli that we
receive throughout sensory organs.
COGNITIVE CHANGES IN ELDERLY
• Cognitive change as a normal process of aging has been
well documented in the scientific literature.
• Some cognitive abilities, such as vocabulary, are
resilient to brain aging and may even improve with age.
• Other abilities, such as conceptual reasoning, memory,
and processing speed, decline gradually over time.
HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN COGNITIVE SKILLS IN OLD AGE?
1. Take Care of Your Physical Health.
2. Manage High Blood Pressure.
3. Eat Healthy Foods.
4. Be Physically Active.
5. Keep Your Mind Active.
6. Stay Connected with Social Activities.
7. Manage Stress.
8. Reduce Risks to Cognitive Health.
SELF-PERCEPTION AND SELF-CONCEPT
SELF-PERCEPTION
• Self-perception of aging is defined as a personal
evaluation of one's own aging.
• The process by which individuals develop perceptions
about themselves as old persons draws on two stages of
expectations.
SELF-CONCEPT
• People of all ages in satisfying and supportive
relationships tend to have higher self-esteem, according
to the findings.
• However, despite maintaining higher self-esteem
throughout their lives, people in happy relationships
experienced the same drop in self-esteem during old age
as people in unhappy relationships.
WHY IS SELF PERCEPTION IMPORTANT?
• Having a positive self-image or self-perception matters
most. High self-esteem and good self-perception are
what helps us avoid getting crushed by rejection and
what motivates us to keep pushing for our dreams.
• Our feelings and beliefs about ourselves can lift us up,
thanks to our high self-esteem.
6 WAYS THE ELDERLY CAN IMPROVE SELF-ESTEEM BY
TAKING CONTROL
1. Take control of your attitude
2. Take control of your health
3. Take control of your appearance
4. Take control of your time
5. Take control of your social life and relationships
6. Take interest in both old and new activities
6 WAYS THE ELDERLY CAN IMPROVE SELF-ESTEEM
BY TAKING CONTROL
1. Take control of your attitude- attitude is an
important part of aging.
A positive attitude is the starting point of taking control
of other areas of life. A success will increase positive
attitude and enhance your motivation to keep trying.
2. Take control of your health – see your physician and
dentist regualry. Follow a regular exercise plan. Eat
balanced meals. Get enough sleep.
3. Take control of your appearance- stand up straight
and hold your head high. Taking time to dress up, have
your hair styled, wear make-up, get manicure, shave,
buy
4. Take control of your time- be as active as you can.
Establish a schedule that gets you up and moving. Plan
to get out for visits, shopping or activities.
5. Take control of your social life and relationships-
call friends and family, do not wait for them to call you.
Go to church or social gathering or do anything you enjoy
where you meet new people and form new
friendships.
6. Take interest in both old and new activities –
recognize any physical limitations but do not use them as
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an excuse for inactivity. Take up old hobbies of find new
ones. Find out what classes are offered at the senior STRESS
center, library, or community. Find a part time job or • Too much stress, however, can suppress your immune
volunteer. system and cause you to get sick more easily.
• Prolonged periods of stress can also increase your risk
ACTIONS THAT CAREGIVERS CAN USE TO of
PROMOTE SELF-ESTEEM several diseases, including heart disease and cancer.
1. Help older adults find interests, activities or hobbies, • According to a study, 60 to 80 percent of doctor's
even learn a new skill. office visits may be stress-related
2. Encourage volunteering, social interaction and
participation in social gatherings. COGNITIVE SYMPTOMS OF STRESS INCLUDE:
3. Seek guidance or mentoring from older adults and • Constant worrying.
listen to their advice. Avoid taking down to other older • Racing thoughts.
adults. • Forgetfulness and disorganization.
4. Keep older adults informed, and encourage them to • Inability to focus.
maintain control of their health. • Poor judgment.
• Being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side.
COPING WITH STRESS
• Stress can cause seniors to look for relief in activities COMMON SIGNS OF STRESS IN SENIORS OFTEN INCLUDE:
such as excessive • Problems sleeping.
drinking, overeating, and drug use. • Difficulty concentrating and making decisions.
• Each of these activities can damage arteries, blood • Feeling pressured or rushed.
vessels, and increase • Eating too much or not enough.
your risk for heart disease. • Irritability and moodiness.
• While stress certainly isn't easy to manage at any age, • Physical discomfort, such as stomach problems,
it can become more headaches, or chest pains.
difficult to cope as you get older for a number of
reasons. HOW CAN OLDER PEOPLE REDUCE STRESS?
• First, your body can't physically handle stress the same • Increase mindfulness.
way it did when • Exercise regularly.
you were younger. • Engage in subtler forms of body manipulation like Tai
WHAT AGE DOES STRESS AFFECT THE MOST? Chi and
• Millennials - ages 18 to 33 massage.
• Gen Xers - ages 34 to 47 • Become active within your community and cultivate
• Boomers – ages 48 to 66 warm
• Matures - 67 years and older relationships.
• Eat nutritionally dense foods and avoid sugar.
WHAT CAUSES COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN THE
ELDERLY? VALUES AND BELIEFS
1. Medication side effects • Values are a culture's standard for discerning what is
2. Metabolic and/or endocrine derangements good and just in society.
3. Delirium due to intercurrent illness • Values are deeply embedded and critical for
4. Depression transmitting and teaching a culture's beliefs.
5. Dementia, with Alzheimer’s, being most common • Beliefs are the tenets or convictions that people hold
to be true
PHYSICAL SIGNS OF STRESS • A belief is an idea that a person holds as being true.
• Aches and pains. • A person can base a belief upon certainties (e.g.
• Diarrhea or constipation. mathematical principles), probabilities or matters of
• Nausea, dizziness. faith.
• Chest pain, rapid heart rate. • A person’s own experiences or experiments.
• Loss of sex drive. • The acceptance of cultural and societal norms (e.g.
• Frequent colds or flu. religion).
• Low energy. • What other people say (e.g.education or mentoring).
• Headaches.
• Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and HOW DO VALUES CHANGE WITH AGE?
nausea. • People may value excitement more when they are
• Aches, pains, and tense muscles. younger.
• Chest pain and rapid heartbeat. • The strength of each of these values changed with age.
• Insomnia. • There were some small gender differences, but for the
• Frequent colds and infections. most part men and women were similar.
• Loss of sexual desire and/or ability.
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• Moral understanding is not the only thing that changes
as people mature.
• People's values tend to change over time as well.
• Values that suited you as a child change as you become
a young adult, form relationships and make your way in
the world.

SIX WAYS TO BOOST THE SELF-ESTEEM OF AN OLDER

PERSON
• Social Connections.
• Strength and Balance
• Ask for Their Advice
• Make Their Home Accessible
• Talk About Current Events
• Be Compassionate