Overview
The prevalence of mental health problems for people living in residential aged care facilities is very high. More than 50% of aged care residents have significant symptoms of depression or anxiety. Such symptoms are highly co-morbid with physical difficulties, medical illnesses, frailty, sensory problems and frailty. The first few months of moving into residential care have also been recognised as highly stressful for residents, leading to increases in suicidal ideation, depression and anxiety.
Currently, the most common treatment of mental health problems in such settings are medications such as anti-depressants. Psychological therapies are not widely utilized in such settings despite their proven effectiveness for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety in aged care residents, and despite their acceptability for older people.
This webinar showcases the latest evidence and innovative practices for the effectiveness of psychological therapies such as behaviour therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and reminiscence therapy for reducing depression and anxiety as well for improving quality of life, wellbeing and adjustment to residential care.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- innovative practices to improve mental health problems in residential aged care setting
- evidence base support for widely practiced psychological practices in residential care settings
- how to help their older clients with depression or anxiety
- how to help client with grief reaction related to losses related to moving into residential care
Presenter's Bios
Presenter Name: Sunil Bhar
Professor of Psychology, Director of The Swinburne Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults, Swinburne University of Technology
Prof Sunil Bhar is a Professor of Psychology at Swinburne University of Technology. He is a clinical psychologist with expertise in the application of psychological treatments to older adults. He is the director of the Swinburne Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults, a counselling and support service for aged care residents, families of residents and residential care staff. Since 2005, he has led research on the outcomes and mechanisms of psychological treatments for older adults.
His research program adopts a comprehensive approach to the development and delivery of effective and sustainable interventions to promote wellbeing in later life. He has extensive experience in behavioural research in depression, suicide and anxiety in older adults. He has won over $12M in research funding to investigate the effectiveness, accessibility and acceptability of psychological treatments for older adults. His research and contribution to practice have been recognised through several awards.
In 2014, he was awarded the Alastair Heron Prize for excellence in ageing research and practice by the Australian Psychology Society. In 2015, he was awarded a citation for outstanding contribution to student learning in geropsychology by the Office of Learning and Teaching. In 2018, he won the Swinburne Dean’s award for research, and in 2019, he won Swinburne’s research impact award. Alongside his research and teaching activities, Professor Bhar has maintained a clinical practice for 30 years.
Presenter Name: Mark Silver
Social Worker, Co-coordinator Swinburne University Wellbeing Clinic
Mark has been a Social Worker in Aged Care & Disability for over 40 years with a keen interest in Narrative, Reminiscence and Stories approaches in his work. He has been working at Swinburne University coordinating a Wellbeing Clinic for Older Adults for the past 10 years; advocating strongly for a greater presence of mental health professionals, especially social workers within age care settings.
He has recognised the importance of intergenerational programs which foster better relationships, communication and understanding between the generations, breaking down stereotypes and building relationships which add meaning and purpose to both the young and old alike. He is also interested in building bridges between the artistic and therapeutic worlds. Both are involved with emotional wellbeing, with healing and the transformation of lives at the centre but they work in separate professional and cultural spaces and all too often lack a common language and framework. In 2021 Mark was a recipient of the Australian Social Worker of the Year Award (Inaugural).
Webinar Details
Date
Thursday 23 May 2024
Times
10:00 am to 11:30 am AEDT
Prices
- Member $50.00
- Non-Member $75.00
Location
Delivered online via Zoom
Cancellation and Refund Policy
- Grief Australia reserves the right to cancel education programs that do not achieve minimum participation, in which case Grief Australia will refund all fees.
- Registration cancellations will not be accepted unless made in writing to Grief Australia.
- Cancellations made more than twenty one (21) days before the event date will be refunded less 25% of the registration fee to cover administration costs.
- No registration refunds will be made after this date. Please note: The total invoiced amount will still be payable in the event of non-attendance on the day.
Terms and Conditions
1. Intellectual Property
Grief Australia's program and program content are copyrighted. Its use and dissemination are restricted and unauthorised duplication is prohibited. A copy of the course presentation will be available after the course and is for personal/non-commercial use only. The content is not to be modified or republished in any way without the prior consent of Grief Australia and the presenter. Any breach of copyright, including the recording of the presentation or any unauthorised use of the material, may lead to legal action.
2. Links and Material from the course
Course's and the follow-up email may contain links that lead to external websites to Grief Australia. Grief Australia has no control of these websites and Grief Australia makes no representations about the accuracy of the information contained on these websites. Grief Australia is not liable for the content on these websites. The presenter may also provide further reference materials for your use after the course. These may include (but are not limited to):
- A copy of the course slides
- Journal articles
- Templates or other documents
All course-related materials remain copyrighted by Grief Australia and the presenter. They must not be distributed to any third party at any time or in any form without written permission from Grief Australia.
3. Registration
Viewers agree to use the product under the purchase agreement terms, which restrict number of viewers based on registration type.
Individual Registration: Provides one person, the registrant, access to the course or recording for personal viewing only.