Aging Matters provides in-service training to support and enhance the work of staff at senior facilities, including direct caregiving staff, other clinicians, and administrative staff (as indicated). We offer training on a wide range of topics and we use a variety of creative training methods to cater to different learning styles. We also offer some of these workshops, with suitable modification, as public education discussions for facility residents and their families.
Training Topics
The range of issues covered by our in-service training workshops span four broad categories:
Senior Life Issues - e.g., aging and loss, ageism, bereavement and grieving, change and life transitions, chronic illness, coping with limitations, daily care rituals (ADLs), death and dying, family concerns/demands, forgetting (what's normal?), gender issues in aging, long-term care placement, sexuality in aging, spirituality and aging, sustaining social connections, terminal illness, wisdom in aging, etc.
Staff Development - e.g., staff burnout and work-life balance, care-giving versus care-taking, coping with difficult clients and challenging behaviors, communication skills, conflict handling skills, providing constructive feedback, receiving critical feedback, embracing diversity, inter-disciplinary collaboration, inter-generational connection, leadership skills, stress management, team building, etc.
Psychiatric Symptoms & Syndromes - e.g., adjustment reactions, assaultive behaviors, agitation/intrusiveness, Alzheimer's, anxiety, chronic mental illness, demanding/needy behaviors, dementia, depression, disorganization, eating problems, memory/cognitive deficits, paranoia, personality disorders, psychosis, sexual inappropriateness, sleep problems, social withdrawal, substance abuse, suicidality, sundowning syndrome, threatening behaviors, traumatic brain injury, wandering, etc.
Psychosocial Treatment Approaches - e.g., anger management, behavioral management, cognitive remediation, creative programming, crisis management, emotional attunement, family engagement in care, non-verbal communication, pain management, palliative care, person-centered care, physical restraint alternatives, positive reinforcement, problem-solving, socialization engagement, stress reduction, suicide risk assessment, therapeutic activities, therapeutic use of emotions, etc.
Training Methods
Interactive Process
Interactive Process: Experiential exercises, role-playing scenarios, facilitated peer exchanges, follow-up support groups, train-the-trainer sessions
Didactic Methods
Didactic Methods: Brief, engaging presentations, question and answer exchanges, structured group discussions (with both small and large group formats)
Training materials
Training Materials: Flip charts, handouts, slides/overheads, props for exercises, visual diagrams, videos/DVDs, self and group assessment instruments
In addition to occasional In-Service Training Workshops (which we provide on a pro bono basis), Aging Matters also offers a much more extensive training program to help senior facilities address the most difficult dimension of senior care - i.e., Dementia. We offer a comprehensive and customized Dementia Care Training Program (which is based on a program originally developed by the Alzheimers Association of NYC). This program will equip your care-taking staff to be more competent and feel more confident delivering condition-appropriate care for residents who suffer from dementia.
