John O’Connor’s recent post on the pain/depression cycle raised some interesting points about depression in long-term care. Reducing learned helplessness that is often seen in depression is...
An LTC shrink’s mind
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
May 01, 2013
These are the initial posts of the popular new McKnights.com blog “The World According to Dr. El.” See more from her at McKnights.com.
Reducing the impact of cascading collective trauma in LTC
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Sep 14, 2021
I spent most of last weekend doing what I could to avoid the 9/11-related headlines in the news. With my Manhattan-below-14th-Street recollections of the event, last year’s immersion in the pandemic...
Why Five-Star ratings should measure staff retention, not staff ratios
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Mar 26, 2019
If we shift to a system that measures staff retention rather than staff ratios, the whole picture changes.
Dialysis: Gauging its need, and how to reduce its stress
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Mar 31, 2015
As a psychologist observing the effects of medical interventions on the mental health of the long-term care resident, I often ask, “Is this aggressive procedure helping?” As it turns out, so...
Strategies to improve workforce participation
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Feb 22, 2022
These short-term strategies from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine could improve workforce participation.
BBB Act provides opportunity to address LTC mental health needs
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Nov 23, 2021
In my last blog post, “Boosting team resilience,” I briefly touched upon the need to recognize the pandemic-related trauma experienced by staff members and to better prepare for future catastrophes. ...
Growing Good
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 05, 2016
In the wee hours of the night I recently discovered a Facebook post about a company founded by two brothers called Life is Good. It emerged from the standing request the founders’ mother had for...
6 ways to improve dealing with death in LTC
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Jan 20, 2015
How someone dies is a very important part of the culture of the long-term care organization. Odds are your community can improve its culture in this area.
12 steps to starting a new job with serenity
By
Eleanor Feldman Barbera, Ph.D.
Mar 12, 2019
You’re not imagining things. Yes, they are checking you out if it’s your first day on the job. Here are 12 steps that may make such transitions more manageable.