Occasionally I pull up a chair to sit with the residents in the hallway, chatting and watching the passersby. One thing I’ve noticed is the vast difference in perspective between eye level and viewing from above. This difference becomes most shockingly clear when the aides wheel the shower chair, with their naked charges covered only … Read more
Regina and I were sitting alone in her room with the door closed. “I was thinking about John last night.” Tears began to well in her eyes. “Yes?” I was immediately alert. Regina had avoided discussing her husband’s death for the past three months of psychotherapy. Suddenly the door opened and the day shift aide poked … Read more
I couldn’t wait to go to college. I was ready to shake off the old me, and begin a brand new self. No one would know who I’d been, and I could therefore be whomever I wanted to be. In my Psych 101 textbook, there was a picture of animal behaviorist Conrad Lorenz, followed … Read more
Setting Boundaries With Residents by Eleanor Feldman Barbera, PhD Becoming close to residents, but not too close, takes wisdom “Can you do me this one small favor?” Estelle H. asked, looking up at her aide imploringly. “Can you get me a birthday card to send to my granddaughter?” Ms. Skinner sighed, thinking … Read more
Managing Resident Requests for Help By Eleanor Feldman Barbera, PhD The Shouters, the Constant Call Bell Ringers and the Complainers don’t have to be that way—you can reshape their behavior Once, when I was new to a facility, I came up to the second floor to find a resident, named Paula, shouting “Nurse, … Read more