A Case for Using Detective Work, Person-Centered Care, & Creative Thinking

Whether it’s the first day of class at school, entering a new office workspace, or walking into a party full of people you don’t know. Unfamiliar environments and new faces can often trigger feelings of unease, discomfort, and anxiety. This is why for many seniors, the move to a care home can sometimes be a challenging life transition. 

For those with dementia, the change can be even more jarring. The symptoms of dementia that limit communicative and cognitive abilities, can make it difficult for them to express not only how they feel, but also why they feel a certain way.

Betty’s Move to the Care Home

In the case of ‘Betty’, a senior with dementia who had recently moved into a care home. The staff was having trouble deciphering the cause of her aggressive reaction toward them. 

Whenever they would approach, she would yell at them to go away; at times even telling them they were “fired”! 

One of the staff members, ‘Diane’ who is also a Certified Dementia Care Provider, wanted to help. She understood that there must be some reason underlying Betty’s disruptive behaviour and started investigating. 

Putting on Your Detective Hat and the Reason Behind Betty’s “Hostile” Behaviour

Looking beyond Betty’s label as a ‘patient’ with dementia, Diane did a bit of detective work to uncover some interesting facts about Betty as a person. 

During her professional life, over 40 years ago, she was often in charge as a boss or manager and was therefore comfortable being in a position of authority. Like any boss, she would expect employees to follow her instructions and defer to her judgment. 

Diane realized that Betty’s hostile behaviour was likely being triggered by memories of this past career. 

Betty was probably feeling a loss of control in a new living environment, where people, who she perceived as ‘employees’, were not only not listening to her, but trying to tell her what to do instead. Seeing this as a sign of disrespect, she was lashing out in anger.

Practicing Creative Thinking

To placate Betty, Diane then used a creative strategy—instead of telling Betty that her perception of reality was false, which may have upset her further, Diane entered Betty’s reality instead and modified her own behaviour as a staff member. 

She started approaching Betty with deference, using very respectful and courteous language. 

Simply put, she talked to Betty as if she were her boss. Betty soon warmed up to Diane— she became calmer and respectful.

Using a person-centered approach, combined with some detective work and creative thinking, Diane was able to uncover the reasons behind Betty’s behaviour towards the staff, and help her better settle into her new home. Her proactive approach as a caregiver is a great example of how the right techniques when it comes to dementia care can make an enormous difference in the lives of the people we care for.

We always encourage people to never stop learning. This is because ‘knowledge is power’! 

If you work in healthcare and are interested in learning more about the creative techniques for delivering person-centered care that we teach in our CDCP™ Dementia Designation Program, then please click here to learn more.