BGH sponsors behavioral health conference
BROWNSVILLE – The behavioral health staff of the Psychiatric Center at Brownsville General Hospital will sponsor the fifth annual conference on Behavioral Health in the Elderly. The conference will take place on Friday at Nemacolin Country Club, Bealsville.
The multidisciplinary faculty will provide practical information, suggestions and solutions for addressing critical behavioral health issues as well as medical and social problems related to the care of the elderly.
Designed to provide helpful insight for caregivers, the specially designed curriculum will address how to recognize the manifestation of major depression, anticipate drug interactions, manage side-effects of antidepressant medications, deal with the elderly’s loss of power, utilize humor therapy, decision-making ability and coordinate treatment and behavioral modification through experiential activities.
Keynote speakers will present special breakout sessions on three important topics relevant to the caregiver’s role in the treatment of geriatric psychiatric patients.
Rita E. Miller, mental health nurse and counselor, will present a special session on the therapeutic use of humor. Guy Caruso, Ph.D., from Syracuse University and a certified rehabilitation counselor, will share his insight on strategies to assist caregivers, who deal with the responsibility of decision making for the elderly consumer.
Benoit Mulsant, M.D., author and professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, will address major issues that impede the assessment and treatment of depression in the elderly.
Continuing education units will be awarded to personal care and long-term care administrators and staff, social workers, certified therapeutic recreation specialists and other healthcare professionals.
For more information or to make a reservation, contact Kathleen Seabright in the Behavioral Health Services Department at Brownsville General Hospital at 724-785-1889.