Caring for People with Challenging Behaviors Essential Skills and Successful Strategies in Long-Term Care By Stephen Weber Long, Ph.D.

Download two sample posters here!

Poster Sample 1 – Understanding Causes of Behavior Problems Among Nursing Home Residents

Poster Sample 2 – The ABCs of Behavior

In Caring for People with Challenging Behaviors, caregiving staff can find effective ways to prevent, reduce, or eliminate disruptive behaviors exhibited by residents in long-term care settings. Nearly 80% of LTC residents have some degree of moderate to severe behavior problems, stemming from mental illness, dementia, difficult personalities, longstanding behavior patterns, or personal distress. This new book provides practical, evidence-based coping and intervention strategies for use in care planning and day-to-day care.

Through vignettes of readily recognizable resident types, staff will learn to understand what triggers and reinforces residents’ challenging behavior. Solutions come from identifying the interpersonal “ABCs of behavior”—the antecedents, the behaviors, and the consequences—and using communication techniques and other effective psychological approaches to encourage positive behavior. From this book staff can learn to

• recognize and manage on-the-job stressors
  
  
• avoid common intervention mistakes
  
  
• respond to obstacles to effective interventions
  
  
• promote teamwork and improve interpersonal relationships
  
  
• set and execute realistic, achievable goals in treatment planning
  
  
• encourage residents’ autonomy