Supporting Older People Using Attachment-Informed and Strengths-Based Approaches by Lydia Guthrie Imogen Blood

Author:Lydia Guthrie, Imogen Blood [Lydia Guthrie, Imogen Blood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784503871
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Kingsley, Jessica Publishers
Published: 2018-07-19T00:00:00+00:00

How can we best support older people and their families in relation to risk?

The evidence we have considered so far in this chapter suggests that, if we are to support older people and their families effectively in relation to risk, we need to do the following:

• Support them all to articulate their fears and concerns about a situation or decision.

• Help older people to identify and express their ‘emotional goals’, what ‘independence’ means to them personally – or, put simply, what really matters to them now.

• Give family members the opportunity to bring the ‘memory for details’ to the table – what happened last time? Are there skills, learning and resources which the older person may have forgotten which could be useful here?

• Where family members are risk averse, we might usefully highlight what Clarke et al. (2011) has described as the ‘silent harms’ of boredom, frustration or losing the fulfilment of doing things for ourselves. We need to promote identity, meaning and purpose in life as well as physical safety.

• Take the time to hear and understand how the older person is already adapting and fine-tuning the balance between risk and independence as they go about their daily lives. How have they adapted the way they do things to reduce risks? What rules have they created for themselves? Do they feel this is working – or does it need to be looked at again? Could outside resources help to maintain the balance – a grab rail next to the bath, or a neighbour who might be happy to put out the bins?

• Consider whether ‘covert’ risk-taking/risk management may be going on here – if so, what is the impact? Is it actually increasing the risks? Can we plan and agree an approach that is acceptable to everyone, so we can be honest with each other moving forwards?

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