THE GUILFORD PRESS
The Complete Family Guide to Dementia
The Complete Family Guide to Dementia
Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Parent and Yourself
ISBN: 9781462549719Couldn't load pickup availability
Caring for a parent with dementia presents unique challenges--Mom or Dad so plainly needs assistance, but is confused, sometimes angry, and often resistant to help. How can caregivers get the vital information they need, when they need it? Journalist Thomas Harrison and leading geriatric psychiatrist Brent Forester show that you don't have to be a medical expert to be a good care provider in this authoritative guide. They explain the basics of dementia and offer effective strategies for coping with the medical, emotional, and financial toll. With the right skills, caregivers can navigate changing family roles, communicate better with the elder with dementia, keep them safe, and manage difficult behaviors. Readers learn to "care smarter, not harder," to help their loved one maintain the best possible quality of life.
By Thomas F. Harrison, Brent P. Forester
Imprint: THE GUILFORD PRESS
Release Date:
Format: HARDBACK
Pages: 228
Introduction I. Understanding Your Parent's Dementia 1. What Is Dementia? How Is It Different from Just Getting Older? 2. How Can I Know for Sure If My Parent Has Dementia? 3. What Causes Memory Loss: Alzheimer's Disease and the Many Other Causes 4. What You Can Expect: How the Problem Typically Progresses 5. Can Dementia Be Treated to Make It Less Severe? II. Understanding Your New Relationship with Your Parent 6. Why Caring for Parents with Dementia Is So Much Harder than Caring for Parents with Other Diseases 7. The Biggest Mistake Family Members Make 8. Your New Relationship with Your Parent 9. Your Relationship with Your Other Parent or Stepparent 10. Taking Care of Yourself Is Not an Afterthought III. Caring Smarter, Not Harder 11. What It Means to Care Smarter 12. How to Communicate with a Parent with Dementia 13. Avoiding Headaches with Your Parent's Finances 14. When Is It Okay to Lie to Your Parent? 15. Keeping Your Parent Safe at Home 16. Getting Help When Your Parent Lives at Home or with You 17. How to Take Away the Car Keys 18. What Causes Problem Behaviors 19. How to Reduce Problem Behaviors 20. How to Handle Problem Behaviors When They Occur 21. Responding to Your Other Family Members and Friends IV. The Later Stages 22. Moving Your Parent to a Care Facility 23. How to Choose a Care Facility 24. How Am I Going to Pay for All This? 25. Your Relationship with Your Parent in a Care Facility 26. Dealing with the End of Life Resources Notes Index
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Author Bio
Thomas F. Harrison is a professional writer and the former editor of a national periodical for attorneys. Based in Massachusetts, he is coauthor of The Complete Family Guide to Dementia and The Complete Family Guide to Addiction. Brent P. Forester, MD, MSc, is Chief of Geriatric Psychiatry at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He is also Medical Director for Behavioral Health Integration at Mass General Brigham, where he leads two system-wide initiatives to enhance clinical care for individuals with dementia while supporting family caregivers. Dr. Forester's award-winning research focuses on developing and testing effective treatments for dementia and mood disorders in older adults.