Counseling the Alzheimer's Caregiver: A Resource for Health Care Professionals » (1st Edition)

MARY S. MITTELMAN, DRPH, has been developing and studying innovative interventions for family caregivers for the past 17 years. She is Principal Investigator of an award-winning federally funded landmark study of counseling and support for AD caregivers, Director of the Psychosocial research and Support Program at the Silberstein Institute for Aging and Dementia, and Research Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine. She and her colleagues are the authors of several books and numerous articles in major scientific journals.

CYNTHIA EPSTEIN, ACSW, is a clinical social worker with advanced training and experience in treating older adults and their families. She counsels caregivers and their relatives with AD, has coordinated several dementia-related research studies at the Silberstein Institute for Aging and Dementia, and is a coauthor of several books, one for caregivers of people with AD and the other for health care professionals. Ms Epstein also maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Manhattan with a special emphasis on issues of aging and caregiving.

ALICIA PIERZCHALA, CSW, is a clinical social worker whose training and experience have focused on working with aging individuals and their families regarding issues of health care. At the NYU Alzheimer s Disease Center, she is a family counselor, the coordinator of a study to help adult children caring for parents with Alzheimer's disease, editor of the center s newsletter Directions, and its web site.

Specific strategies are presented here for health care professionals helping caregivers meet the daily and long-term challenges of caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The manual covers the spectrum of AD issues from diagnosis to the end of life and tells how health care professionals can coach caregivers, with techniques illustrated with vignettes and an ongoing case study. Material is based on a major study of a psychosocial intervention for family caregivers at the New York University School of Medicine's Alzheimer's Disease Center. The book can be used in physicians' offices, social service agencies, hospitals, and other health care settings to create a counseling program to support caregivers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Doody Review Services

Reviewer:David O. Staats, MD(University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center)
Description:This book describes a counseling program developed by NYU for caregivers of a loved one who has Alzheimer's disease.
Purpose:Its purpose is to provide a summary of the evidence-based counseling strategies that work best with persons caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. The book gives a description of the counselilng process.
Audience:Social workers will find this most of use. Others who counsel family members caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease will find this bok useful. Healthcare professionals caring for the demented also will find this book of use.
Features:Woven throughout the discussion are vignettes that clearly get across the message of what is at issue with the counseling. At the end of each of the 13 chapters there is a summary of the points covered.
Assessment:More healthcare professionals should know the best ways of counseling family members caring dor a demented person. It would have been helpful to have the citation of the original research and to publish some of the caregiver assessment measures. Not all dementing illnesses are Alzheimer's disease, and some word about any special approaches or features in other dementing illnesses would be of use. This book does not discuss how one arranges for the counseling described -- access is a pertinent issue here. With the burgeoning population of the demented, and the desire of caregivers to manage them at home, this book is a good contribution to the field.

Introduction

Chapter 1: Alzheimer s Disease: Essential Background Information
Understanding Alzheimer s Disease
Diagnosing Alzheimer s Disease
The Stages of Alzheimer s Disease
The Effects of Caregiving on Families

Chapter 2: Assessment
Components of the Assessment
Clinical Impressions
Sample Assessment Summary

Chapter 3: Counseling the Caregiver
Conditions of the Counseling Arrangement
The Counseling Process
Counseling Techniques and Strategies

Chapter 4: Family Counseling
Preparing for Family Involvement
The Family Counseling Process
Understanding the Family

Chapter 5: Ad Hoc Counseling
The Benefits of Ad Hoc Counseling
Introducing Ad Hoc Counseling Services to the Caregiver
The Ad Hoc Counseling Process
What the Counselor Can Learn From Ad Hoc Calls
Suggestions for Implementing Ad Hoc Counseling

Chapter 6: Support Groups for the Caregiver
Benefits of the Support Group Process
Who Should Be Referred to a Support Group?
What Should a Counselor Consider About a Support Group When Making a Referral?
How to Prepare a Caregiver for a Support Group

Chapter 7: Helping Caregivers Adapt to Change
Adapting to the Caregiving Role
How Counseling Can Help Caregivers
Emotional Reactions Over the Course of the Illness
Lifestyle Changes
Financial Issues

Chapter 8: Relationship-Related Issues
Meaning of Loss of the Relationship With the Patient
Spouse Caregivers
Adult Child Caregivers
Other Caregivers

Chapter 9: Managing Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Alzheimer s Disease
Understanding and Responding to Symptoms of Alzheimer s Disease
Creating an AD-Friendly Environment
Changing Lifestyles
The Most Common Difficult Behaviors Associated With Alzheimer s Disease

Chapter 10: Medical Care for the Person With AD
Routine Health Care for the AD Patient
Medical Emergencies
Hospitalization of the AD Patient

Chapter 11: Formal Services for the Patient at Home
The Decision to Care for the Patient at Home
Choosing Living Arrangements
Formal Services for In-Home Care

Chapter 12: Residential Care
The Decision to Place a Relative With AD in a Residential Facility
Choosing a Residential Facility for a Person With AD
The Placement Process
The Caregiver s Role After Placement

Chapter 13: The End Stage of Alzheimer s Disease, Death, and Bereavement
The End Stage of AD
The Caregiver s Role at the End Stage of AD
Addressing Medical Care Issues
Death of the Patient
Autopsy
Appendix A: The Caregiver Assessment Battery
Appendix B: Resources
Bibliography

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