June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The following information is from the National Center for Elder Abuse website:
Elder abuse is a growing problem. While we don’t know all of the details about why abuse occurs or how to stop its spread, we do know that help is available for victims. Concerned people, like you, can spot the warning signs of a possible problem, and make a call for help if an elder is in need of assistance.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse is defined as the use of physical force that may result in bodily injury, physical pain, or impairment. Physical abuse may include but is not limited to such acts of violence as striking (with or without an object), hitting, beating, pushing, shoving, shaking, slapping, kicking, pinching, and burning. In addition, inappropriate use of drugs and physical restraints, force-feeding, and physical punishment of any kind also are examples of physical abuse.
Signs and symptoms of physical abuse include but are not limited to:
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- bruises, black eyes, welts, lacerations, and rope marks
- bone fractures, broken bones, and skull fractures
- open wounds, cuts, punctures, untreated injuries in various stages of healing
- sprains, dislocations, and internal injuries/bleeding
- broken eyeglasses/frames, physical signs of being subjected to punishment, and signs of being restrained
- laboratory findings of medication overdose or under utilization of prescribed drugs
- an elder’s report of being hit, slapped, kicked, or mistreated
- an elder’s sudden change in behavior
- the caregiver’s refusal to allow visitors to see an elder alone
You can enjoy the features of Opiate Abuse: Thefor Windows on your PC Screen with better speed and more interaction. Let us show you around how this app can perform better in the PC environment. Opiate Abuse: The also works for Mac similarly. Our experience may guide you to enjoy the journey. The MAC certification attests to the educational background, knowledge, skills, and competencies of the specialist in addictions counseling. NCCs who hold the MAC credential are eligible to seek Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) status through the.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse is defined as non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an elderly person. Sexual contact with any person incapable of giving consent is also considered sexual abuse. It includes, but is not limited to, unwanted touching, all types of sexual assault or battery, such as rape, sodomy, coerced nudity, and sexually explicit photographing.
Signs and symptoms of sexual abuse include but are not limited to:
- bruises around the breasts or genital area
- unexplained venereal disease or genital infections
- unexplained vaginal or anal bleeding
- torn, stained, or bloody underclothing
- an elder’s report of being sexually assaulted or raped
Emotional or Psychological Abuse
Emotional or psychological abuse is defined as the infliction of anguish, pain, or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts. Emotional/psychological abuse includes but is not limited to verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, and harassment. In addition, treating an older person like an infant; isolating an elderly person from his/her family, friends, or regular activities; giving an older person the “silent treatment;” and enforced social isolation are examples of emotional/psychological abuse.
Signs and symptoms of emotional/psychological abuse include but are not limited to:
- being emotionally upset or agitated
- being extremely withdrawn and non communicative or non responsive
- unusual behavior usually attributed to dementia (e.g., sucking, biting, rocking)
- an elder’s report of being verbally or emotionally mistreated
Neglect
Neglect is defined as the refusal or failure to fulfill any part of a person’s obligations or duties to an elder. Neglect may also include failure of a person who has fiduciary responsibilities to provide care for an elder (e.g., pay for necessary home care services) or the failure on the part of an in-home service provider to provide necessary care.
Neglect typically means the refusal or failure to provide an elderly person with such life necessities as food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medicine, comfort, personal safety, and other essentials included in an implied or agreed-upon responsibility to an elder.
Signs and symptoms of neglect include but are not limited to:
- dehydration, malnutrition, untreated bed sores, and poor personal hygiene;
- unattended or untreated health problems
- hazardous or unsafe living condition/arrangements (e.g., improper wiring, no heat, or no running water)
- unsanitary and unclean living conditions (e.g. dirt, fleas, lice on person, soiled bedding, fecal/urine smell, inadequate clothing)
- an elder’s report of being mistreated
Abandonment
Abandonment is defined as the desertion of an elderly person by an individual who has assumed responsibility for providing care for an elder, or by a person with physical custody of an elder.
Signs and symptoms of abandonment include but are not limited to:
- the desertion of an elder at a hospital, a nursing facility, or other similar institution
- the desertion of an elder at a shopping center or other public location
- an elder’s own report of being abandoned
Financial or Material Exploitation
Financial or material exploitation is defined as the illegal or improper use of an elder’s funds, property, or assets. Examples include, but are not limited to, cashing an elderly person’s checks without authorization or permission; forging an older person’s signature; misusing or stealing an older person’s money or possessions; coercing or deceiving an older person into signing any document (e.g., contracts or will); and the improper use of conservatorship, guardianship, or power of attorney.
Signs and symptoms of financial or material exploitation include but are not limited to:
- sudden changes in bank account or banking practice, including an unexplained withdrawal of large sums of money by a person accompanying the elder
- the inclusion of additional names on an elder’s bank signature card
- unauthorized withdrawal of the elder’s funds using the elder’s ATM card
- abrupt changes in a will or other financial documents
- unexplained disappearance of funds or valuable possessions
- substandard care being provided or bills unpaid despite the availability of adequate financial resources
- discovery of an elder’s signature being forged for financial transactions or for the titles of his/her possessions
- sudden appearance of previously uninvolved relatives claiming their rights to an elder’s affairs and possessions
- unexplained sudden transfer of assets to a family member or someone outside the family;
- the provision of services that are not necessary
- an elder’s report of financial exploitation
Abuse For Macular
Self-neglect
Self-neglect is characterized as the behavior of an elderly person that threatens his/her own health or safety. Self-neglect generally manifests itself in an older person as a refusal or failure to provide himself/herself with adequate food, water, clothing, shelter, personal hygiene, medication (when indicated), and safety precautions.
The definition of self-neglect excludes a situation in which a mentally competent older person, who understands the consequences of his/her decisions, makes a conscious and voluntary decision to engage in acts that threaten his/her health or safety as a matter of personal choice.
Signs and symptoms of self-neglect include but are not limited to:
- dehydration, malnutrition, untreated or improperly attended medical conditions, and poor personal hygiene
- hazardous or unsafe living conditions/arrangements (e.g., improper wiring, no indoor plumbing, no heat, no running water)
- unsanitary or unclean living quarters (e.g., animal/insect infestation, no functioning toilet, fecal/urine smell)
- inappropriate and/or inadequate clothing, lack of the necessary medical aids (e.g., eyeglasses, hearing aids, dentures)
- grossly inadequate housing or homelessnessDo you suspect a loved one is the victim of elder abuse? Call MAC for help at 410-742-0505.
As the nation struggles to confront an ongoing opioid crisis, the value of clinical mental health counseling — and substance abuse counselors specifically — grows each day. While substance abuse is nothing new, the current situation in countless American communities further emphasizes the importance of qualified mental health counselors.
For students with counseling ambitions, earning an online Master of Arts in Counseling is one way to prepare to help individuals, families and other persons affected by substance abuse. This subspecialty within the greater scope of clinical mental health counseling requires students to build a number of skills and competencies to effectively serve clients.
Helping clients understand addiction and what they can do to help themselves or a loved one is no easy task, which is why Bradley University’s online MAC program features a robust curriculum designed to give substance abuse counselors the tools and knowledge they need to achieve positive outcomes.
Here’s more information about the online MAC courses at Bradley that can help prepare substance abuse counselors for the real world:
ENC 551 – Substance Abuse Counseling
This course serves as a basic introduction to substance abuse counseling. The practice of substance abuse counseling and the concept of addiction therapy both require a nuanced understanding. Students can receive this type of focused learning through ENC 551, where they will encounter theories and the etiology (the study of the causation of a disease) of addiction.
Addiction is an oft-misunderstood condition, and its complexities are a constant theme students are taught to address. This is done through teaching students about addictive behaviors, strategies for prevention, intervention techniques and treatment.
Abuse Mac
ENC 625 – Principles of Group Counseling
Abuse Mac Game
Group counseling sessions are common in substance abuse therapies. Such forums are useful for many reasons, but also require specialized training on the counselor’s part. Group dynamics are wholly unlike those manifested in individual sessions, and without an ability to facilitate and guide the session, counselors may be overwhelmed.
To effectively run group sessions, students need to be trained in the principles of group theory, methods and procedures. They need to be able to take on the role of group leader and facilitate discussions, resolve conflict, manage interpersonal interactions and advocate for the best interests of the group.
There’s no better avenue for learning about and experiencing group counseling principles firsthand than experiential learning. As part of Bradley’s online MAC program, students with the proper prerequisites undergo supervised practice in group settings, both as a leader and participant. This immersive experience ensures students have concrete skills and knowledge to apply in their practice of group counseling.
ENC 631 – Crisis Intervention Counseling
Given the nature of addiction, many individuals and families may reach crisis points. It’s at these critical junctures that clinical mental health professionals with a master’s degree in counseling can provide expert help and value. However, these high-pressure situations will call upon a number of skills and competencies that counselors must learn to effectively help people in crisis.
This online counseling course provides students with an overview of crisis response, which requires a different problem-solving methodology than is applicable in “normal” situations.
Throughout this course, students are trained for the level of emotional and social difficulty involved in crisis counseling, as well as practical intervention techniques they can use with clients. Students also gain an appreciation for the greater impact crises can have on whole communities, beyond just individuals and families.
ENC 607 and 608 – Neurocounseling: Bridging Brain and Behavior; Brain-Based Interventions
A primary outcome of substance abuse counseling is empowering clients with tools and techniques to improve their lives. This can be achieved in a number of ways, and one approach that the online Bradley MAC program focuses on is brain-based interventions. Such techniques can be powerful in promoting mindfulness and mental health.
Students gain an introduction to these concepts through ENC 607 Neurocounseling: Bridging Brain and Behavior. This course addresses subjects like neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to create new cells over a person’s lifetime — and how counselors can leverage that biological process in client interactions. Students gain a better appreciation and understanding of neurocounseling through instruction, simulation, demonstration, practice and evaluation.
That knowledge is enhanced in ENC 608 Brain-Based Interventions. Students learn more about counseling efficacy and interventions like mindfulness, meditation, neurotherapy and neurofeedback through this course. Such methods can be helpful in teaching clients to use their brain in regulating emotions and behaviors to better manage substance abuse.
ENC 530 – Loss and Grief Counseling
An unfortunate reality of substance abuse counseling is that death and injury do occur. Substance abuse takes an extensive physical and mental toll on individuals, families and communities, so having the tools as a professional counselor to help those affected is of central importance.
Loss and grief are common counseling topics. Cultural beliefs, society, gender influences, blockers and other variables can affect how loss and grief are experienced, as well as which interventions might prove useful in counseling situations. This course offers students the chance to learn more about people’s reactions to loss and the different kinds of personal loss.
Contact Bradley University for more information
Earning a master’s degrees in counseling can offer professional clinical mental health counselors a wealth of opportunities to sharpen skills, learn more about their interests, practice advanced interventions, explore theory and achieve all manner of different educational enrichment. This knowledge-building is important to substance abuse counseling, which requires counselors to have a number of different competencies.
The curriculum of the Bradley online MAC program is designed to ensure students are as prepared as possible to address the realities of substance abuse counseling. By covering subjects like group dynamics, brain-based interventions and other areas, the online MAC degree gives students the tools and experience they need to successfully serve clients. To learn more about the Bradley program, contact an enrollment advisor today.
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