Therapeutic Caregiving

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k | | |Better social/Emotional Care for Elders: | |An Argument to Raise Awareness | | | |Laurie Palmer | |5/6/2010…show more content…
The lack of a definition is part of the problem. Some gerontology experts with dementia experience who recognize the ambiguity of the term care, target the social and emotional aspects of care with phrases such as “therapeutic Caregiving” as Barbara J. Bridge’s (1998) does in her book of the same title Therapeutic Caregiving: A Practical Guide for Caregivers of Persons with Alzheimer’s and Other Dementia Causing Diseases. Joanne Koenig Coste (2003) refers to a “habilitative “approach to care giving in her book; Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s. Using the terms social care and emotional care remind us that the everyday care that all of us already know and use holds power. At times, I will give social and emotional care separate attention in order to elaborate on the importance of each. Then I will address them as one, social/emotional care because the two needs as well as their subsequent care are intimately intermingled. Differentiating the social/emotional aspects of healthcare from the medical, physical, or any other aspects of care exposes the nature, power, and significance of social/emotional care. Fully realizing the importance of social/emotional care is the first step toward promoting better social/emotional care. In opposition to my claim that better social/emotional care is needed, many…show more content…
Good emotional care could and should have been administered. When strong emotional needs present themselves, providers of care must be able to” bracket” other duties, in order to administer good emotional care. Emotional reactions from patients indicate that need. Providing adequate emotional care means that the provider is able to convey to the patient that he/she is safe and cared about and will be cared for. Communicating this message to an elderly patient requires a good deal of time and energy but as Cost points out, the effort alleviates much
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