We Treat

Our geriatric psychiatry team at DEMCARES evaluates and manages care for the elderly with all types of mental and emotional disorders, such as:

• Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and other types of dementia
  Anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders
• Behavioral changes such as aggressiveness, outbursts, or social withdrawal
• Sleep disorders
• Alcohol and substance abuse and dependence
• Psychiatric symptoms related to other co-occurring medical or neurological conditions
• Late-life psychosis, such as schizophrenia
• Self-harm behaviors or suicidal thoughts or attempts

Basic Geriatric Psychiatric Symptoms

• DEMCARES offers treatment that helps relieve symptoms such as:
  Feelings of loneliness, isolation, and lack of purpose
• Stress and worry caused by the challenges of living with physical health conditions
• Anxiety due to mobility limitations or living conditions, such as financial strains, overwhelming home maintenance, or stress resulting from the sale and moving from their home
• Grief over the death of a spouse, family member, or friend
• Severe depression or anxiety that affects their ability to function
• Intense fear of a terminal illness or death
• Behavioral issues such as agitation, repetitive behaviors, outbursts, or mood swings
  Lack of self-esteem or confidence

Basic Geriatric Psychiatric Symptoms

DEMCARES brings together specialists from several fields of medicine for comprehensive care. Our team works closely with each patient and their family to provide a thorough evaluation, beginning with a:

• Discussion of symptoms, personal medical history, and family medical history
• Psychiatric evaluation to assess cognitive and social functioning and screen for mental health conditions
• Psychological assessment to discuss feelings, cognitive strengths and weaknesses, thoughts, and behaviors

We then create a personalized treatment plan to manage each patient’s specific needs and relieve their symptoms. Our treatment options and other services include:

• Medication evaluation and management
  Medications, such as antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications, to treat symptoms
• Specialized education and support for patients, their families, and their caregivers about mental health conditions and how to manage care at home
• Individual and family counseling (psychotherapy) and support groups
• Crisis intervention and stabilization, when appropriate
• Access to physical therapy care
  Guidance to schemes and government policies profitable to the elderly

To provide the best and most convenient experience for our patients, we offer tele-services and house visits as well as in-person clinic visits. We also provide in-patient care when needed to patients in crisis.

When to seek out a mental health professional?

• Has a history of depression and now feels sad most of the time, has lost interest in most of their daily activities, or has difficulty paying attention to their activities or environment
• Has noticeable changes in memory, concentration, moods, or personal care
• Doesn’t eat enough food or drink enough liquids to stay healthy
  Makes unusual sounds or movements while sleeping or seems excessively sleepy, which could be signs of a sleep disorder
• Has memory loss with depression, with difficulty planning or making decisions, or after a change in medications

When to Seek Emergency Care?

Seek emergency care immediately if the person talks about self-harm or suicide. It’s critical to take a person seriously if they talk about either self-harm or suicide. DEMCARES IS NOT AN EMERGENCY SERVICE PROVIDER.

DID YOU KNOW?

The effects of COVID-19 on the geriatric population

Given that older persons have a higher risk of suicide than the general population, the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 might heighten this risk. The COVID-19 epidemic’s social distancing policies and COVID-19 therapy’s ethical guidelines may make the three key components of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide, being excluded from society, feeling disposable, and being exposed to suffering, worse. The COVID-19 epidemic strains resources, and it has sparked moral discussions regarding practices involving prioritizing the treatment of younger populations. Such encounters can limit seniors’ ability to obtain necessary medical and mental health treatments and may send harmful messages about frailty. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic’s potential for long-term distress may have an impact on neurological, immune, and physiological functions, increasing the likelihood of suicide. There is a discussion of potential locations to increase alternative therapies and decrease social exclusion.. People with PTSD are more likely than the general population to have suicidal thoughts, attempt suicide, and possibly even die by suicide; nevertheless, individuals are far less likely to seek assistance due to stigmatization fears, the idea that symptoms will subside gradually, and occasionally an absence of understanding about the illness on its own. In terms of mortality, COVID-19 infection has the greatest impact on the elderly, with 14.8% of cases occurring in adults over 80 compared to 0.2% in people under 40. More municipal governments are outlawing visits to care homes and long-term care facilities to reduce the risk of infection among elderly residents. Additionally, prohibiting communal TV viewing, board game play, and art therapy sessions may be detrimental to residents’ mental and physical health. Residents of nursing homes are already prone to loneliness, and the absence of social connection brought on by a decline in visits from family and friends exacerbates the traumatizing effects of COVID-19 on their daily lives. A difficult conundrum for patients, caregivers, and health professionals is sexual disinhibition in persons with neurocognitive impairments. The most typical change in sexual activity associated with the development of a neurobehavioral disorder is a downturn in sexual attraction; however, between 1.8% and 25.9% of patient samples with neurodevelopmental disorders have shown the onset of sexual dissociation or inappropriate sexual behaviors.