Getting ‘hygge’ with it, at the holidays and year-round

Getting ‘hygge’ with it, at the holidays and year-round I know, I know, that’s not how the word is pronounced. But as soon as I read about the Danish concept of coziness, I got that darn Will Smith song (“Gettin Jiggy With It”) in my head and I can’t get it out. Hygge (actually pronounced … Read more

What worries me about trauma-informed care

What worries me about trauma-informed care I was relieved last month when I saw that my fellow Psychologists in LTC member, Lisa Lind, Ph.D., had written an article for McKnight’s about Preparing for trauma-informed care in LTC. As McKnight’s resident behavioral health expert, I was feeling like I should write something on the subject, but … Read more

Severely mentally ill residents: Staff training, teamwork needed

Severely mentally ill residents: Staff training, teamwork needed As I discussed in Severely mentally ill residents: A ‘perfect storm’ creates a SNF wave, long-term care has a growing population of severely mentally ill (SMI) residents, with the number of residents diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder approaching 20% in some states as of 2017.1 In … Read more

Healthcare changes that burn me out — and burn me up

Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Healthcare changes that burn me out — and burn me up I was recently required to take an online training module on burnout for physicians and allied professionals. It was the first time in 20-plus years that I’d received a formal message about self-care from any long-term … Read more

Trend #5: Re-Envisioning Long-Term Care

The American Psychological Association published an article in the APA Monitor on “Trends to Watch in 2019.” I was pleased to see that geropsychology was Trend #5. Read what my colleagues and I have to say in Tori DeAngelis’ piece on Re-Envisioning Long-Term Care.

A hopeful day at LeadingAge 2018

Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: A hopeful day at LeadingAge 2018 I headed to the 2018 LeadingAge convention last week looking for a fix of long-term care enthusiasm and that’s exactly what I got. I met up with old colleagues, put faces to voices I’d spoken to for years and wandered … Read more

Relationships key to long-term care success

Here’s my latest article on McKnight’s Long-Term Care News: Relationships key to long-term care success Long-term care success is about steady, reliable relationships. That’s my takeaway after attending two recent conferences that echo my experiences in the field. The first event delivered the results thus far of an ongoing program that won a coveted grant … Read more