"She shares with us her gold - the conception, trial and error implementation, and initial scientific investigation of a new, educationally-oriented treatment approach that she has named mindfulness-based elder care (MBEC)."-from the Foreword by Saki Santorelli, EdD, MA, Associate Professor of Medicine,Executive Director, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and SocietyUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School Drawing on years of experience as a geriatric social worker and mindfulness-based stress reduction practitioner, the author has taken Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program and adapted it to the particular needs of elders, their families, and professional caregivers. Mindfulness practices focus on abilities, rather than disabilities, in order to provide paths to the inner strengths and resources that we all possess. McBee's Mindfulness-Based Elder Care conveys the benefits of mindfulness through meditation, gentle yoga, massage, aromatherapy, humor, and other creative therapies to this special population. She provides clear, concise instructions for her program, as well as a wealth of anecdotal and experiential exercises, to help readers at all levels of experience. Hers is the first book to fully explore the value of mindfulness models for frail elders and their caregivers. Features of this groundbreaking volume include: Valuable tips for establishing programs to address each population's specific needs and restrictions Designed for short classes or 8-week courses Detailed experiential exercises for the reader Replete with case studies Clear, easy-to-follow instructions for elders and caregivers at all levels This innovative book is suitable for use with a variety of populations such as nursing home residents with physical and cognitive challenges, community-dwelling elders, direct-care staff, and non-professional caregivers.

Based on extensive clinical research, this book sheds new light onto how Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) can be used with older adults as an effective complementary intervention, identifying specific ways in which MBSR programmes can be adapted and fine-tuned to meet the needs of this group. Presenting robust new evidence to support the efficacy of MBSR as a holistic therapeutic approach, the author draws interesting and original conclusions about its positive impact on older people's psychological and spiritual wellbeing, physical health, neuropsychological performance, attitudes towards death and dying and overall quality of life. The lived experiences of older adults taking part in an MBSR programme provide rich first-hand insights into the therapeutic process, and the author draws valuable conclusions about ethical considerations and the responsibilities and personal transformation of the MBSR facilitator. Professionals involved in delivering mindfulness-based interventions to older adults, including psychologists, counsellors, spiritual directors and physicians, will find this to be essential reading. It will also be of interest to students, academics and researchers wishing to keep abreast of the latest research and developments in the MBSR field.

Caregiving can be enormously challenging, terrifically rewarding, and potentially draining. Caregivers often wonder how they will navigate the tumultuous waters of caregiving and not lose themselves completely. The Mindful Caregiver highlights two major approaches to help transform the journey: adopting a practice of mindfulness, which helps caregivers become more self-aware and fully present with the person with whom they are caring, and honoring “the spirit-side” of caregiving which offers new ways of connecting to one another. These approaches take into account not just the needs of the care recipient, but also the needs of the caregiver and other people in his/her life. Remembering to care for oneself when someone else is in great need can be difficult, but with the suggestions and tips in this book, any caregiver can cultivate routines and practices that benefit everyone. Solutions that caregivers can use in their day to day routines are provided, so caregivers who use them can feel more empowered and hopeful. Using real stories throughout, Nancy Kriseman offers self-care exercises and addresses a wide variety of subjects such as setting realistic expectations, making the best possible decisions, advocating effectively, and evaluating available resources and services. The Mindful Caregiver provides inspiration, encouragement, and guidance for finding ease in the caregiving journey. By emphasizing both mindfulness and the spiritual dimension, caregivers can reap the gifts of caregiving, appreciate the special moments, and find strength during the challenging times.

Eastern spiritual traditions have long maintained that mindfulness meditation can improve well-being. More recently, mindfulness-based treatment approaches have been successfully utilized to treat anxiety, depressive relapse, eating disorders, psychosis, and borderline personality disorder. This book discusses the conceptual foundation, implementation, and evidence base for the four best-researched mindfulness treatments: mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). All chapters were written by researchers with extensive clinical experience. Each chapter includes the conceptual rationale for using a mindfulness-based treatment and a review of the relevant evidence base. A detailed case study illustrates how the intervention is implemented in "real life," exploring the clinical and practical issues that may arise and how they can be managed. This book will be of use to clinicians and researchers interested in understanding and implementing mindfulness based treatments. * Comprehensive introduction to the best-researched mindfulness-based treatments * Covers wide range of problems & disorders (anxiety, depression, eating, psychosis, personality disorders, stress, pain, relationship problems, etc) * Discusses a wide range of populations (children, adolescents, older adults, couples) * Includes wide range of settings (outpatient, inpatient, medical, mental health, workplace) * Clinically rich, illustrative case study in every chapter * International perspectives represented (authors from US, Canada, Britain, Sweden)

Cason, "shows how to care for an aging or infirm person in the comfort of their own home."

Just a few of the vitally important lessons in caring for your aging parent—and yourself—from Jane Gross in A Bittersweet Season As painful as the role reversal between parent and child may be for you, assume it is worse for your mother or father, so take care not to demean or humiliate them. Avoid hospitals and emergency rooms, as well as multiple relocations from home to assisted living facility to nursing home, since all can cause dramatic declines in physical and cognitive well-being among the aged. Do not accept the canard that no decent child sends a parent to a nursing home. Good nursing home care, which supports the entire family, can be vastly superior to the pretty trappings but thin staffing of assisted living or the solitude of being at home, even with round-the-clock help. Important Facts Every state has its own laws, eligibility standards, and licensing requirements for financial, legal, residential, and other matters that affect the elderly, including qualification for Medicare. Assume anything you understand in the state where your parents once lived no longer applies if they move. Many doctors will not accept new Medicare patients, nor are they legally required to do so, especially significant if a parent is moving a long distance to be near family in old age. An adult child with power of attorney can use a parent’s money for legitimate expenses and thus hasten the spend-down to Medicaid eligibility. In other words, you are doing your parent no favor—assuming he or she is likely to exhaust personal financial resources—by paying rent, stocking the refrigerator, buying clothes, or taking him or her to the hairdresser or barber.

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.