Its More Than Just The Blues: Caregiving and Depression Part II

1
Its More Than Just The Blues Caregiving and
Depression - Part II

• Atashi Acharya, ACSW, LICSW Director, Senior
  Mental Health Services, VOA-MN
• [phone]

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Interactive Focus

• Strategies for supporting family caregivers
  suffering from depression
• Tips on how to identify signs of depression
• Discussing the issues, encouraging acceptance of
  help
• When and how to refer to a mental health
  specialist

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What May Trigger Depression? Implications of the
Long Goodbye

• Relationship issues between the family caregiver
  and the older relative
• Multiple roles of the caregivers
• Dynamics underlying when and how roles begin and
  evolve
• Caregivers own health, functioning status,
  responsibilities, and other factors
• Caregivers resilience and ability to balance
  roles, expectations, and emotional responses

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Depression and Stress

• What is the connection between the two?
• How to tell them apart?
• Impact on the caregiver before, during, and after
  the role ends

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Stress Response and Stress Tolerance

• What causes stress?
• Difference between acute and chronic stress
• Signs of acute vs. chronic stress
• Stress-related mental health problems

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Clinical Depression as a Mental Illness

• How is depression different from sadness and
  grieving?
• Other mental illnesses that might be present
• Co-morbidity with physical illnesses and
  disabilities

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Screening

• Discussion How to screen for the presence of
  mental health or stress related problems

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How to Discuss the Issues

• A step-by-step process of support , advocacy, and
  encouragement
• Practice - Role Play

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Referral

• Discussion When and how to refer to a mental
  health provider