Caring for the Aged and Counselling BPS212

Develop your understanding of ageing process and issues affecting the elderly.This course aims to develop your understanding of the ageing process, and your ability to help others cope more effectively with their grief. It is designed to be useful for counselling and other care professions or anyone involved with elderly people in any other way, formally or informally.

Ageing is the process of growing old. It is a gradual biological impairment of usual functioning. These changes have a direct impact on the ability of organs, such as the heart, kidney and lungs and biological systems such as the reproductive and digestive systems, which affect the organism as a whole.

What we mean by "old"ù has also changed over recent years. Due to medical advances, improved hygiene and sanitation, people tend to live longer. Our life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is the average expected life span of an individual. Our life expectancy is dependent on the country we live in, our health and so on. For example, in countries with high infant mortality rates, the life expectancy will be different than in countries where the infant mortality rate is lower.

As a person gets older things change in their life: everything from lifestyle to health and their capacity to do things, through to those activities which they choose to pursue.

This course helps you understand these changes, and the ways in which a counselor, carer or anyone else might interact with and support an older person.

Course Sructure There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Understanding Ageing
   • Gerontology, What do we mean by Ageing: Population Ageing, The Effects of the Ageing Population, Theories of Human Development, Erikson\'s Theory of Development, Levinson , Theories of Retirement, Disengagement Theory, Activity Theory, Atchley\'s Model of Retirement
2. Lifestyle Changes
   • Relationships, Relationships with Children, Relationships with Partners (Husband/wife), Relationships with Grandchildren, Friendships, Sexuality and Older People, Cognitive Changes, Intelligence, Depression, Determining Type of Depression, Unipolar Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Causes of Depression, Risk factors for Depression, Men and Depression, Depression in Older People, Symptoms
3. Deterioration of Health
   • Physical Changes Skin, Hair, Height, Senses, Reflexes, Sex, Eyes,Chronic Health Problems, Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Gout, etc. Exercise, Diet, Nutrition, Eating habits, etc. Pain relief, Medication, Stress.
4. Support Services
   • Preventative Services, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Complimentary Practitioners, Counseling Professionals, Other Support Services (eg. Meals on Wheels, Funeral Services)
5. Enablement Techniques
   • Common Risks for Elderly: Risk of Falling, Vision, Hearing, Nutrition, Sexuality. Techniques to maintain Quality of Life: Driving a car, banking, shopping, house cleaning, Gardening, Socialising, Pets, Exercise, Sport
6. Grief and Loss Counseling
   • What is grief, Psychological aspects of Long Term Grief: Family, Work, Financial, Loneliness, Morality after bereavement, Counselors Response and Intervention, Practical Intervention, Depression
7. Debilitating and Terminal Illness
   • Dementia, Kinds of Dementia (Alzheimers, Vascular Dementia); Stratewgies for Counselling the Demented Client; Communication, Daily Activities, Sleeping Difficulties, Hallucinations and Delusions, Wandering, Depression, Terminal Illness: Patients Response, Anxiety, Depression, Guilt & Anger, Defense Mechanisms. Preparing for Approaching Death; Practical Preparations, Emotional Responses, Responses of Friends and Family
8. Losing a Loved One
   • Importance of Loss, Assessment, Role of the Deceased, Death of a Child, Stigmatised Death, Co-Morbidity. Counseling Strategies: Bibliotherapy, Use of Rituals, Bereavement Support Groups. Special Therapeutic Situations: Traumatic, Sudden, and Stigmatised Loss, Ongoing Support, Social Stigmas of Suicide
9. Ethics and Intervention
   • Barriers to Aged Care Counseling, Addressing the Client\'s Needs, COMMON LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN AGED CARE: Decision Making Capacity, Competence, Informed Consent, Confidentiality, Euthanasia, etc

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school\'s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• To discuss theories of ageing, and to develop an understanding of the different stages of human development.
• To describe the psychological impact of changes which occur as a person reaches old age
• To understand the effect of physical health problems on older people.
• Describe the nature and scope of support services, including counseling, for the elderly.
• Describe a range of solutions that can enable an elderly person to adapt to changed circumstances in order to continue performing tasks or pursuing interests that are becoming increasingly difficult for them.
• Explain how a variety of counseling techniques can be applied to specific Grief and loss situations for counseling elderly persons.
• Develop a strategy for counseling an elderly person who has been diagnosed with a debilitating or terminal illness.
• Develop a strategy for counselling an elderly person who has lost a loved one.
• Determine when and how to intervene in the life of an elderly person

What is Aging?

Ageing is the process of growing old. It is a gradual biological impairment of usual functioning. These changes have a direct impact on the ability of organs, such as the heart, kidney and lungs and biological systems such as the reproductive and digestive systems, which affect the organism as a whole.

On average, in the UK, men will live to be 77.2 and women 81.5. This will have an obvious effect on society. As people are living longer, this will mean that there will be more people who have retired and are no longer working. This has an obvious impact on the economy. There are medical advances, but as people age, their bodies and minds are affected by the ageing process. This is something we will discuss in more detail in later lessons.

In economic terms, an ageing population can lead to changes in expenditure in some areas, such as:

• Health care: this will increase as the population ages. This could result in higher taxes to pay for the increased costs of health care.
• Education: expenses will fall as there will be fewer young people.
• Pensions: the state pensions will be affected by the increased longevity of the population.

Ageing also inevitably leads to physical decline. Many of the physical changes involved are not the result of illness or a direct consequence of the ageing process, but can be due to:

However, they will experience a number of physical changes which can be attributed to the ageing process:

Ageing is therefore the result of damage to the cells in our bodies. However, the speed at which a person ages will be affected by: their outlook on life, as well as their personal experiences and circumstances. Hence, it will vary from person to person. However, ageing is not necessarily a negative experience. As a person loses in some areas, they may gain in others. For example, they may lose some energy, but they may learn the ability to conserve energy. They may learn patience, understanding, wisdom and how to make the best use of their life experiences, all of which may improve their lives regardless of any physical changes.

Aged Care is becoming of increasing concern, not only in developed countries; but developing countries as well.

This course helps you understand ageing and the aged; and provides a foundation for working with the elderly; as a counselor, carer or in any other area of support.

• Poor diet
• Lack of exercise
• Poor lifestyle.
• Muscle mass decreases
• Cells decay. The DNA strand in our cells becomes damaged, which ultimately leads to the failure of the cell\'s energy production
• Energy reserves will reduce
• The immune system will have a reduced capacity to fight against disease
• The organs and bodily systems, such as hearts and lungs will become less efficient.