The session is suitable for all levels of staff, from all departments.
This session can be credited to the 5-Day Mental Health Recovery Care Certificate Program
Presented by Steve Mathew (Behaviour Therapist, Mental Health Clinical Manager)
Recovery and harm reduction are fundamentally different ways of caring for residents with mental disorders.
Much of the training in long term care over recent years has been focused on care of individuals with dementia and related disorders. However, there are other types of residents in LTC homes that pose behavioral challenges. Those individuals include a growing demographic of older adults coming into LTC from hospital and community with psychiatric disorders. The needs of these individuals are unique. Their care plan interventions have a different focus than that of the dementia resident. Unlike the resident with dementia, who steadily declines due to neurodegeneration, many residents with mental disorders are actually capable of achieving some level of recovery for themselves. If we are to be truly resident-centered then we must now focus efforts and resources to this unique population as well.
This workshop is focused on the management of complex residents with longstanding psychiatric disorders that often present with risk, and strain resources in long term care homes. The goal of this session is to help participants discover the critical components of a comprehensive RecoveryCare plan for residents suffering with mental disorders. Participants will learn important criteria for pre-admission screening for risk of violence. The nuances of a therapeutic staff-resident relationship will be explored as a starting point for planning care and treatment. Specialized interviews such as the Mental Status Assessment serve as foundational skill sets for measuring severity of psychiatric symptoms. Selecting the appropriate therapeutic intervention often includes combinations of psychotropic medications, dialogue-based therapies, recovery-based programming and behavior plans. With these skills and knowledge participants can serve key roles in facilitating between the LTC home and hospital-based outreach to ensure continuity of care for the resident.