Application of Psychosocial Theory to Gerontology Systems - Stephanie Flores (Final)

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Stephanie A. Flores Application of Psychosocial Theory to Gerontology Systems Essay Grand Canyon University: SOC 386 02/27/2022

For this essay, an Alzheimer’s patient case study was presented in order to understand how generalist practitioners work with caregivers, as well as the patient, to understand the strengths and difficulties on both ends. This is done to provide a clear picture of where a practitioner's knowledge and skills can provide relief not only to the patient, but to the caregiver as well. The presenting case study shows Mary and her husband, Arthur, and their role as caretaker for Mary’s mother. They express the difficulties they face with caring for Mary’s mother, and how her Alzheimer’s exacerbates the situation. The social worker speaks with Mary and Arthur to discuss how caring for her mother is affecting them, and what has been helping as well. The role of the generalist practitioner for caregivers of Alzheimer's patients is to assess how caring for the patient is affecting the caregiver. Additionally, this information can be used to understand how the health and well-being of the caretaker affects the quality of care the patient receives. The practitioner can then identify ways that they are able to alleviate stress on the caregiver so that they are better equipped to provide and care for their patients. In the case of Arthur and Mary, their main concerns were the difficulty they have in dealing with their mother’s attitude and the stress caring for her is putting on them mentally. One point made by a social worker in the video was, “there is help out there for these people and it’s a matter of doing research, finding it, and if you do that, the quality of everyone’s life will be better.” (Films Media Group, 2002) For example, the social worker spoke with the patient's son-in-law, Arthur, and discovered some areas of concern regarding the patient's overall health. Arthur revealed that his mother-in-law spends the majority of the day sleeping and both the social worker and he agreed that this was not beneficial for his mother-in-law. The social worker took the first steps in asking questions regarding her medication to see if this could possibly be the cause of her

lethargy. This further cements the idea that a practitioner aims to understand the problems that are affecting the patient and caregiver and want to find ways to help them so that everyone’s quality of life is improved. Biological, social, cultural, psychological, and spiritual development are all contributing factors to our identity and how that affects our roles in society. We are born with innate talents, physical characteristics, and social context that dictate what roles are available to any person in a given society. This generates feelings of self confidence, self esteem, or lack thereof. (Films Media Group, 1991) When considering this with regards to coping with these challenges for the patient and caregiver, I believe the strengths perspective would be the approach most useful in this situation. “Strengths are internal and external capabilities and resources unique to each person or group.” (Langer, C.L. & Lietz, C., 2014, p.61) If we take into consideration the patience, understanding, and love that Mary and Arthur have for Mary’s mother, we can also look at the strength in Mary’s mother for her independence and strong willed mind and use this knowledge to research ways that both of these can be used to help Mary’s mother as well as Arhurt and Mary as her caretakers. Based on the competencies from the Geriatric Social Work Competency Scale II, the skills I would like to gain most as a beginning practitioner working in the field of aging and gerontology, fall under the skills in assessment. I would like to learn how I can use empathy and sensitive interviewing skills to engage older clients and identify their strengths/problems. Additionally, under Intervention skills, I would like to learn how to assist caregivers to reduce their stress levels and maintain their own mental and physical health. (SWLI, 2022) I believe that caretakers take on a lot especially when working with the elder population and as a social worker it would provide them with relief to take on these responsibilities and in turn,

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provide the patient with better quality of care which they deserve. In this way a practitioner is able to help both parties. From this film I have gained a newfound sense of respect for generalist practitioners and the caretakers of Alzheimer's patients. It takes a lot of strength and patience to assist and work with elders, especially when they are suffering from Alzheimer’s. I would be willing to work in the field of aging and gerontology because I think there is a lot that can be done as a social worker to help caregivers of the elderly and ensure the caretakers themselves are being taken care of emotionally, mentally, and physically. Social workers can help them to have the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to provide their patients with the highest quality of care that they deserve. Moreover, the caregivers deserve access to these resources to provide them relief and ease in caring for their patients. I would like to take part in helping caretakers to properly address the needs of the patient in a way that allows them to maintain their own health and allows the patients to maintain a sense of control and stability over their own lives despite their illness.

References Dale, O., & Smith, R. (2013). Human Behavior Theory and Social Work Practice. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Social Systems Theory (7th ed., pp. 1-32). Pearson Education, Inc. Films Media Group. (1991). Erik H. Erikson: A life’s work. Films On Demand. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx? wID=96349&xtid=44901 . Films Media Group. (2002). Alzheimer and dementia: Caring for the caregiver. Films On Demand. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=96349&xtid=32231 . Langer, C. L., & Lietz, C. (2014). Applying theory to generalist social work practice . John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.

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