Your Brain on Caregiving: Acknowledging and Addressing Dysfunction in the So-Called-Healthy Brains of Dementia Caregivers

Abstract

Research has shown that caregivers of people living with dementia suffer high rates of emotional distress and multiple other health issues, including a higher risk of mortality, all of which can additionally negatively impact the care of the person with dementia. While much of the dementia care education focuses on educating the caregiver about the effects of dementia on the person with the disease, very little research addresses the underpinnings of the psychological struggles of the caregiver. The presentation will highlight research that shows why caregivers, despite having information about their person's diagnosis, routinely fail to apply that knowledge, only to become repeatedly frustrated. Although caregivers supposedly have "healthy" brains, their expectations and reactions often do not align with what they "should" do.The session will then give an overview of how this evidence has been translated into the various models of dementia caregiver support through Caring Kind (in New York City, formerly the Alzheimer's Association) caregiver support groups and Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital (Belmont, MA) individual and group caregiver psychotherapy programs. This session will be in a novel format that incorporates dialogue between academic clinicians and clinicians proficient in public education. Presenters will then bring the research to life by applying these concepts to clinical vignettes and to reflections of dementia caregivers engaged in support programs who have been able to turn the predictable story of an increasingly frustrated, ill-equipped, and social-isolated caregiver into the less common but within-reach narrative of a resilient person who becomes better-connected, makes better decisions to promote their own health, who grows in competence and confidence to care for their person with dementia.This presentation will incorporate pragmatic skill-building approaches which can be utilized by a broad range of clinicians who may encounter caregiver stress as part of the dementia care that they provide. These approaches are derived from a range of modalities – e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Problem Solving Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Group Psychotherapy – that help to promote healthy functioning in dementia caregivers.The Discussion for this session will focus on how both individual clinicians and healthcare systems can develop services focused on caregivers, and how such can be made more equitable and scalable. This involves leveraging a range of approaches, including building interdisciplinary teams, community outreach and education (including upskilling caregivers from diverse backgrounds) and tapping into the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) driven tools.