Caring for someone who has dementia is a uniquely stressful experience. The person may be forgetful, engage in bizarre behavior, have trouble speaking, become incontinent, fall, and have trouble eating, …
Continue ReadingIs It Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia?
As studies of brain health and aging focus and evolve, the term “Mild Cognitive Impairment,” or MCI, is frequently bandied about by doctors and other care providers—and often without much …
Continue ReadingTips to Combat Eating Problems and Severe Weight Loss in Older Adults
Many people tend to have a relationship with food and eating characterized by a familiar problem: overconsumption. This is particularly true in the United States. Weight gain caused by overeating can …
Continue ReadingGetting a Stubborn Loved One to Make Healthier Choices
At any given time, I’m typically involved in planning training for healthcare staff on one topic or another. One of the projects I’m currently working on is teaching staff some …
Continue ReadingGeropsychologists Meet the Mental Health Needs of Aging Adults
Geropsychology is “the specialized field of psychology concerned with the psychological, behavioral, biological, and social aspects of aging,” with clinical geropsychology (which is what I do) as the applied version …
Continue ReadingThe Looming Long Term Care Crisis Meets the Obesity Epidemic?
As I’ve said for years, the world is poised on the precipice of what could be called a demographic tsumani. Cogitate on these numbers for a moment: Obviously, these numbers …
Continue ReadingLet the Sunshine In: Sleep Disorders & Dementia
Let’s talk about sunshine and the incredible role that it plays in our well-being. Older adults, particularly nursing home residents, tend to get less of it than younger adults, but …
Continue ReadingOlder Adults, Technology, and the Future of Long-Term Care
I tend to spend a lot of time in my work as a geropsychologist thinking about technology. Which is an interesting thing, when you think about it – older adults …
Continue ReadingBeat the Blues: How to Help an Elderly Loved One Through the Holidays… and Beyond
My understanding is that there’s a lot of questions out there as to how to handle the holidays with their older loved ones, particularly ones who have suffered recent losses. …
Continue ReadingThe Power of Reminiscence in Helping Older Adults with Depression
One of the things I’ve heard said (and I often jokingly say myself) is that having children is a convenient excuse for getting to have a second childhood, to relive …
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