Caring for People with Challenging Behaviors: Essential Skills and Successful Strategies in Long-Term Care

This book outlines practical strategies for preventing, reducing, and eliminating the disruptive behaviors of residents in long-term care settings. Nearly 80% of nursing home residents have some degree of behavior problems caused by mental illness, dementia, difficult personalities, or personal distress. Through examples of recognizable resident types, staff will learn to understand what triggers and reinforces residents' challenging behavior. Solutions come from identifying the "ABCs of Behavior" - the antecedents, the behaviors, and the consequences - and using communication techniques and psychological approaches to encourage positive behavior. This book shows how to recognize and manage stressful situations; avoid common intervention mistakes; respond to barriers to effective interventions; promote teamwork and improve relationships; set and execute achievable goals in treatment planning; and encourage resident independence. Included in the book are tracking forms to help staff track residents' behaviors and their own responses to them. Posters are also available for use as visual reminders for staff when handling resident's behavior.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; Why Nursing Home Residents Do What They Do; Encouraging Residents' Positive Behavior; Finding Solutions to Nursing Home Residents' Difficult Behavior; Coping with the Stress of Working with Nursing Home Residents'; Obstacles to Using Effective Techniques; Treatment Planning; References; Appendix A The ABCs of Behavior Observation Form; Appendix B The ABCs of Thinking and Feeling Form; Appendix C The Pleasant Events Schedule

About the Author :
Stephen Weber Long, Ph.D., is a psychologist and psychoanalyst. For more than 12 years, he has been on the Extended Care staff at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northport, New York. He provides clinical services to patients and consultations to nursing home staff, supervisors, and administrators to reduce problem behaviors and promote a therapeutic environment. Dr. Long is also Adjunct Professor, teaching The Psychology of the Aging, at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. He received his doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in Berkeley/Alameda, California, and a postdoctoral diploma in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy from Adelphi University. In addition to teaching, Dr. Long also has a private practice in Huntington, New York, which includes consultation and psychotherapy for elders and caregivers. Please visit www.drstephenlong.com for more information.

Review :
"an excellent resource both for health care professionals and enlightened administrators preparing themselves for careers in long term care settings. Dr. Long ... has authored a well-written, practical guide for dealing with a wide range of problem behaviors. This book will be very helpful for understanding and managing difficult situations involving physically frail and cognitively impaired older adults residing in community, assisted living facility, and nursing home environments."--Victor Molinari, Ph.D., ABPP, Professor"Department of Aging and Mental Health, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida" (01/01/2001) "[this] book is outstanding -- the approaches and recommendations would clearly fit as a critical part of [a facility's] overall mental-health program -- [it] not only effectively captures key human relationship and organizational needs, [it] presents the material in a way that can be easily understood and taught in residential settings that often cannot devote more than small blocks of time to training"--Catherine Johnson, Psy.D., Licensed Long-Term Care Administrator, Minnesota (01/01/2001) "Caring for People with Challenging Behaviors is a very useful addition to the training literature in long term care. [The book] uses rich and compelling case material to make behavioral approaches come alive for the direct care staff and ... provides practical step-by-step approaches for controlling the range of difficult behaviors often encountered in long term care. This book will be useful to staff members and supervisors who face the daily challenge of providing care in the long term care settings."--Michael A. Smyer, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology"Boston College" (01/01/2001)