Mental Health and Social Service Needs
What candidates must know
Residents bring lifelong personalities, coping styles, and losses into the facility. Maslow's hierarchy reminds you that physical needs come first, but love, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization matter just as much to well-being. Understand defense mechanisms such as denial, regression, and projection as normal coping, recognize the stages of grief, and know the warning signs of depression: withdrawal, poor appetite, sleep changes, hopeless statements, and loss of interest.
Distinguish delirium from dementia. Delirium comes on quickly, fluctuates, and often has a physical cause such as infection, dehydration, medication, or pain. Dementia is progressive and gradual. Sudden confusion is a medical emergency and is reported, not dismissed.
Traps in questions
- Accepting depression as a normal part of aging. It is not, and it is treatable.
- Arguing with a delusion or hallucination. Acknowledge the feeling, do not confirm or dispute the false belief, and redirect.
- Giving false reassurance such as everything will be fine.
- Making promises you cannot keep.
- Discussing a resident's condition in front of them or with other residents.
- Doing everything for a resident who could still do part of a task.
Worked rule
Use open-ended questions, active listening, and reflection. If a resident says nobody ever visits me, a poor answer is that is not true. A better answer reflects the feeling and invites more: That sounds very lonely. Tell me more about how your days feel. The rule of thumb is to respond to the emotion before the facts.