Mental Health Conference Summary
Attending the Mental Health Conference which was held on November 5, 2015, was amazing. The opportunity to learn about the many issues concerning mental health, specifically dementia, was very inspiring. As a Gerontology major this conference offered many points of learning about mental health issues which were of great interest to me.
The speakers were all impressive and brought many different views of caring for and understanding the different mental health issues. For example, we were given a quick reference guide to psychiatric medications by Dr. John Preston PSY.D, and were told how each medication may affect the patient differently. Each person who is given the same drug, even if individual have the same mental disorder, may react differently. Knowing this helps the individual as well as family, caretakers and gerontologists to understand different reactions in a dementia patient who may be acting adversely to a medication. This helped me to understand in some cases rather than thinking the dementia may be getting worse, it may be the medication that needs to be changed, and to consult with the patient’s doctor. …show more content…
This is the subject I am currently interested in and will follow throughout my gerontology journey. Mr. Hellman also spoke of issues such as myths and realities of normal aging, and the three ‘D’s Dementia, Depression, and Delirium which are also a part of his education on advising elders and their families concerning dementia. Understanding what is happening when facing dementia is so important to the person exhibiting the behaviors, their family, and caregivers. This type of information is invaluable to a gerontology student such as myself. Knowing how to address a delicate situation such as dementia and family as caretakers requires learning as well as
Attending the Mental Health Conference which was held on November 5, 2015, was amazing. The opportunity to learn about the many issues concerning mental health, specifically dementia, was very inspiring. As a Gerontology major this conference offered many points of learning about mental health issues which were of great interest to me.
The speakers were all impressive and brought many different views of caring for and understanding the different mental health issues. For example, we were given a quick reference guide to psychiatric medications by Dr. John Preston PSY.D, and were told how each medication may affect the patient differently. Each person who is given the same drug, even if individual have the same mental disorder, may react differently. Knowing this helps the individual as well as family, caretakers and gerontologists to understand different reactions in a dementia patient who may be acting adversely to a medication. This helped me to understand in some cases rather than thinking the dementia may be getting worse, it may be the medication that needs to be changed, and to consult with the patient’s doctor. …show more content…
This is the subject I am currently interested in and will follow throughout my gerontology journey. Mr. Hellman also spoke of issues such as myths and realities of normal aging, and the three ‘D’s Dementia, Depression, and Delirium which are also a part of his education on advising elders and their families concerning dementia. Understanding what is happening when facing dementia is so important to the person exhibiting the behaviors, their family, and caregivers. This type of information is invaluable to a gerontology student such as myself. Knowing how to address a delicate situation such as dementia and family as caretakers requires learning as well as