Sign Up for Diagnosing Depression and Anxiety in LTC

Your Guide

Belinda Vierthaler, LMSW, LACHA

Belinda is a licensed Master Social Worker and licensed Adult Care Home Administrator. She has worked as an Administrator in skilled nursing and assisted living communities and served as the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman under the administrations of Governor Parkinson and Governor Brownback. She developed the Administrator-In-Training program and taught the assisted living operators course at Johnson County Community College. Currently, she is the Chief Development Officer for Evergreen Living Innovations, Inc.

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About this course

Mental Health is a very important topic, often overlooked in long-term care. This course is designed to discuss the most common psychiatric diagnoses found in adult care homes and to look at what can we do instead of jumping to prescribing medications. This class will help staff look deeper into mental illness and help residents to improve their quality of life. This course also offers diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

Students will be able to:

-Define behavioral health

-State difference between mental health and mental illness

-List most common psychiatric diagnoses in LTC

-Identify non-pharmacological intervention for residents living with mental illness

-Identify ways to identify behaviors (reactions) and how to prevent or help residents cope

- Discuss root cause and how this helps residents living with mental illness

-Discuss diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder