Category Archives: Compassionate Touch®

Compassionate Touch®, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Why Touch is Good Medicine in Caring for Persons with Dementia

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“Touching as a therapeutic event is not as simple as a mechanical procedure or a drug, because is, above all, an act of communication…the use of touch and physical closeness may be the most important way to communicate to acutely ill (and aged) persons that they are important as human beings…” – Ashley Montagu

Touch is good medicine.  Research supports the beneficial effects of skilled touch as a powerful, yet under-utilized means to address an urgent need:  person-centered care for people with dementia.

Let’s look at the need.  Our aging population is having a major impact on hospitals, long-term care companies, aging and regulatory services and hospice providers.  Clinicians and front-line staff will serve more people over age 75 than any other age group and prevalence of dementia is being seen in every sector of senior services.

  • About one-quarter of all older hospital patients are people with dementia
  • People with dementia constitute about half of all nursing home and assisted-living facility residents
  • An estimated 15 million family and friends in the U.S. provided care to a loved one with dementia in 2013

Touch deprivation leads to feelings of isolation, anxiety, poor trust in caregivers, insecurity and decreased sensory awareness.  Older adults living with chronic illness, dementia and other conditions are especially receptive to touch.  Unfortunately, they are the least likely to receive expressive human touch from health care providers and caregivers.

Touch stimulates the production of oxytocin, leading to feelings of safety, caring, trust and decreased anxiety.  It’s been called the care and connection hormone.  When your brain releases oxytocin, you feel good.

At the same time, cortisol is a hormone that increases when we are stressed.  Studies show that cortisol level decrease after even five minutes of skilled touch.

Instrumental vs. Expressive Touch

Touch in caregiving is NOT the same.  There are two basic kinds of touch that commonly occur during caregiving:  Instrumental touch is necessary to perform a task or procedure such as transferring or bathing.  Expressive Touch is offered spontaneously to show care, concern, reassurance, affection, and empathy.  It has the power to affect our feelings about others, ourselves and the world we live in.  The person receiving the touch feels validated and distress in the moment is eased.

Skilled Touch has a structure and method designed to achieve a desired clinical impact.

Compassionate Presence is both a personal quality and professional skill that can be learned and developed.  With compassionate presence:

  • you connect with individual rather than the disease
  • you connect in the moment as it unfolds
  • you accept the reality and current experience of the person you are serving

“The most important innovation in medicine to come in the next 10 years:  the power of the human hand.” – Dr. Abraham Verghese

Expressive touch provides a feasible, effective tool to respond to behavioral expression in persons living with dementia;  reduce stress for both care partners, and a means to calm, connect and comfort.  With training, it is a powerful tool that is literally in the hands of those caring for our older adults.

Research supports positive changes in physical behavior, mood and expression, resistance to care, and reduced stress for both care partners, leading to greater staff satisfaction.

Skilled touch:

  • alleviates aches and pains
  • provides tactile and sensory stimulation
  • induces a relaxation response
  • supports psycho-social well-being

There is an urgent need to provide more effective and feasible tools to improve dementia care and reduce the use of psychotropic drugs.

We can transform care… it’s in our hands!

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute and worked with Ann Catlin, OTR, LMT in the development of the ground-breaking Compassionate Touch® program, used throughout the US, Australia and Canada to improve care for persons with dementia and end-of-life.  

To learn more about the Compassionate Touch® program please visit http://www.AGEucate.com

 

 

 

Compassionate Touch®, Hospital Professionals, Senior Care Professionals

Why Competency-Based Training Improves Dementia Care

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There is an urgent need to equip caregivers to better respond to and care for persons living with dementia.  Traditional training models have focused on the number of classroom hours an individual must spend in training, assuming that a person who completes the required training hours is ready to work successfully with people living with dementia.  The shift to competency-based training improves dementia care by focusing on mastery of tasks and tools that are learned.

Competency-based learning empowers learners to focus on mastery of valuable skills and knowledge and learn by practicing.  This can be valuable for direct care staff in applying techniques, tools and other skills with other staff and their care receivers.

General benefits of competency-based training include:

  • Greater understanding of learning outcomes by applying skills taught.
  • Increased  retention and higher probability that what is taught will be applied
  • Learners’ improved ability to recognize, manage, and continuously build upon their own competencies and evidence of learning
  • Employers’ improved ability to track competencies and achievements

With growing focus on person-centered practices in dementia care, staff may gain knowledge training, but if it is not applied and practiced, the risk of “losing” the skills increases.  Competency-based training includes assessments on whether a person has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and abilities required to work with individuals with dementia;  understand how to support their dignity and individuality, and can apply his or her training to the unique needs of persons living with dementia.

We face challenges in equipping our workforce to deal with the unique needs of those living with dementia.  As this number increases drastically,  practical, feasible and effective tools for caregivers is urgently needed.  They must be provided with more real-life training before they are asked to help people living with dementia and their families.

Competency-based dementia training should be integrated into every elder care providers’ ongoing training program.

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate Training Institute and a passionate advocate for older adults and those that serve them.  Pam is the creator of the internationally recognized Dementia Live® simulation program.

http://www.AGEucate.com

Compassionate Touch®, Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals, The Faith Community

How Care Partners Can Embrace Wellness and Joy

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I was privileged to speak yesterday to the Dallas Area Parkinson’s Society (DAPS)  about how care partners can embrace wellness and joy.  For persons living with Parkinson’s Disease and other neurological conditions, finding wellness and joy in everyday life can be challenging and elusive at best.  I know this first-hand, as my mother lived with Parkinson’s Disease (PD).  Speaking from experience as her partner in this journey, my words of wisdom for embracing wellness and joy encompassed some simple steps.

  1.  First, pat yourself on the back for the bravery and courage it takes to face PD.  It’s not always a friendly companion.  I love the hummingbird as a symbol of tireless joy and accomplishing that which seems impossible.  Care partners remember every day how special you are.
  2. There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path, but don’t allow yourself to become one of them.  Accept your faults and imperfections and move on with.  Those who linger on imperfection will never experience wellness or joy.
  3. Be like the sun,  and shine even if no one ever thanks you for it! Expecting of others is almost always a road to disappointment, so shine your light if for no one else but yourself!   Others will see it, I promise!
  4. Live for today and only today.  We spend far too much time worrying about what could happen tomorrow and missing the precious moments that this day brings.
  5. When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate;  when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.   We’ll be better people for embracing both as a gift.
  6. Do all in your power to reduce stress.  If you are getting on your own nerves, it may be time for re-grouping!  Stress affects our physical, social, emotional and spiritual well being.  Learn ways to cope with and reduce stress such as:
    • Practice deep breathing throughout the day.  Fully fill those lungs and then a long, slow exhale through the mouth.  Deep breathing reduces stress, improves posture, relieves pain and boosts energy, among many other health benefits.
    • Keep moving.   When you don’t feel like moving do it anyway.  Your body, brain and well being will thank you.  Find exercise groups specifically for PD.  You’ll have the added benefit of connecting with others while improving your balance, energy, and stamina.
    • Laugh…often!  Laughter changes the chemicals in our brain and makes us feel good all over.  And it’s okay to laugh at ourselves.  In fact, you might start there!
    • Get creative.  Research tells us that persons living with PD often have more creative brains.  Think about this.  You have to find ways to do things differently.  So start a new creative adventure and embrace it.  You might just surprise yourself!
    • Connect with others.  Intentionally hug and touch (all brain boosting, chemical changing things happen when you touch!).  This will add meaning to your life that has immeasurable benefits.
    • Embrace the Journey.  It was not what you had planned, nor one you would have chosen, but it’s yours.  Sweet, precious moments of joy, happiness, and wellness will come out of this practice.  You will enrich your life and the lives of those around you.

Pam Brandon is the President/Founder of AGE-u-cate® Training Institut and a passionate advocate for those living with Parkinson’s Disease and their care partners.  She feels blessed each day for the Parkinson’s journey that she and her mother Jeanette shared for almost 10 years.   

The Dallas Area Parkinson’s Society is celebrating almost 40 years of impacting and improving the lives of those affected by Parkinson’s Disease.  The work they do and others across the country is helping to create transformative change.

http://www.AGEucate.com

http://www.DAPS.us

 

 

Compassionate Touch®, Family Caregiver, Senior Care Professionals

What’s all the Talk about Mindfulness for Caregivers?

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Call it awareness, attention, focus, presence, or vigilance. It’s proving to be a powerful and effective practice in coping with stress.  Caregiving can easily top the charts on stress, especially for caregivers of elders with chronic illness and dementia.  Mindfulness for caregivers means learning to live in the moment, accept the reality of a situation, and filter out distractions.

Mindfulness is not necessarily about a constant state of meditation, or practicing yoga, although these are both proven tools in helping one to better cope with life’s challenges.

We can practice mindfulness by sharpening our focus.  In our Compassionate Touch® training, we call this centering.  For a caregiver it might be deep breathing or focused meditation before entering the room when an older adult is agitated, confused or combative.  Learning to leave your other worries at the door will help to focus on how you can help the person you are caring for.  You have, for that moment, stepped into their world.  By being engrossed in that person and the present situation, there is a higher probability you will have a heightened sense of empathy and understanding, thus be able to tap into tools that will improve care.

By practicing mindfulness in caregiving, the benefits go far beyond improving care.  The stress reduction benefits the caregiver as much or more than the care receiver.  When this happens, everyone wins! Like anything else, mindfulness must be practiced.  Nothing becomes second nature until it is put into regular use.  If deep breathing exercises  works, then practice this throughout the day.  Journal the difference in how you are able to handle situations.  If brief moments of meditation work, try these… but do it every day and many times a day.

Centering ourselves through mindfulness allows us to accept that we are most often not in control, which is often a huge challenge for care partners.  We want so much to make our loved ones happy and healthy again, but this is sometimes not possible – certainly not all the time.  In a world that is always on full speed, with soaring expectations, sometimes the most valuable gift we can give our loved one is this:

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

Pam Brandon is President/Founder of AGE-u-cate® Training Institute.  Passionate about creating transformative change for older adults and those that care for them,  Pam is honored to work in the field of caregiver education and training and lead the AGE-u-cate team who are changing lives with innovative programs for family and professional caregivers. 

www.AGEucate.com