Dealing With Alzheimer’s I’m a baby boomer and have many friends and family members going through exactly what you describe (“Confronting Alzheimer’s,” June 18). Luckily, my parents haven’t gotten to the point of not being able to understand. But my mother is very stubborn about letting any of us control her life. Your article is the best conversation starter. My sister and my mom have both read it. And since NEWSWEEK is a respected magazine, my mother is willing to listen for the first time to our pleas to let us help her. We’re also passing the magazine on to others in the same predicament. Thank you. Linda Brown Los Angeles, Calif.
What a wonderful and much-needed series of articles. So many people delay talking with their families about aging. As a caregiving instructor, I find it very rewarding to be able to help families who find themselves confronting this potentially difficult time in their lives. Most people don’t realize that the American Red Cross has a program for the public that focuses on caregiving. It is a nine-part series that helps enhance caregiving skills, both physical and emotional. The topics range from teaching bathing, grooming, toileting, etc., to how to handle legal and financial issues of a dependent loved one. Interested caregivers can contact their local Red Cross chapter, where they can be directed to this valuable resource, or log on to redcross.org and go to Health and Safety Services. Joyce Phillips, R.N. American Red Cross Washtenaw County Chapter Ann Arbor, Mich.
You gave a voice to those who can’t speak for themselves and showed the caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s that we are not alone in this struggle. My mom has Alzheimer’s and has just turned 91. Each day her memories get erased. She doesn’t know who I am, but I still believe that somewhere, locked away in her mind or heart, she does. I’m sending a copy of this article to my sibling. “Caregiving & Alzheimer’s” has validated the fact that my husband and I are doing the right thing for my parents, and I pray it will touch others to get involved and help ease the burden for the caregivers. Rose Ann Merenda New Fairfield, Conn.
My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1994 after moving in with me after my father died. I was able to keep her with me until 2004, when I had to place her in a nursing home. I am single and my siblings live some distance from me, so I was the caregiver, and I worked full time. Mom and I talked about how I would handle everything according to her wishes. Dealing with Medicare, Medicaid, nursing homes, hospitals and psychiatric hospitals was a nightmare. My advice to others in my position is to maintain a file for all the paperwork. Question every bill or statement you get from the nursing home, because often it does not know what it charged you for or why. Keep a diary of all this. When you have to deal with the symptoms that force you to transfer your parent to a psychiatric facility for mental stabilization with drugs, make sure you meet with the psychiatrist and health team. Take one day at a time. Spend some time each day on a hobby, and plan one or two social outings a week. Keep your friends and neighbors informed about what is going on, and let your local police department know that you have a relative with Alzheimer’s. Also tell your boss about this problem. Understanding helps your job. Have an established relationship with the social worker at Medicaid. This will help when you run into problems. Mom wanted me to continue with my life. She passed away on May 19. In this adjustment period I am trying to slow down. I am enjoying my dogs and the sunshine of each day. Jerri Martin, R.N. Lewisville, Texas
Your article on Alzheimer’s was very informative. However, there was no mention of the wandering aspect of the disease and its effects on caregivers, as well as on law enforcement and searchers who respond to locate those who wander. Approximately 60 percent of those with Alzheimer’s will wander from their homes. A program called Project Life-saver can help. It is an association of law-enforcement and other public-safety agencies that have joined together under the Project Lifesaver International organization to provide help and protection for wandering Alzheimer’s victims. A member agency will enroll the wandering individual and provide a radio-transmitter wristband, which emits a radio signal that can be tracked to locate the person should he wander off and become lost. This program has saved more than 1,500 lives since it began in 1999, with no failures, as well as saving enormous taxpayer money usually spent on searches. Gene Saunders, CEO Project Lifesaver International Chesapeake, Va.
As the daughter of a parent affected by Alzheimer’s, I appreciate your focus on caregiver stress. I’ve seen how anxiety, depression and anger affect a caregiver’s immunity and overall health from a family and research standpoint. Yet readers would do well to recognize passive-aggressive or hidden anger and how to respond to it, as too often family dynamics, such as resentment, bring about sarcasm, all-or-nothing thinking, refusal to work with adult siblings and attempts at control—largely because Alzheimer’s robs the patient and the family of any semblance of control, further compromising the cohesive family that everyone needs during this “long goodbye.” All family members have individual strengths to tap, so that each can be a resource to the others in a well-functioning family. Talking with “I messages,” taking a realistic position of what you can and cannot do, sharing honest feelings and decision making, and remembering self-care strategies make this more bearable for all baby boomers and leave a far better legacy once the parent’s journey ends. Thank you for your coverage. Loriann Hoff Oberlin, M.S., L.G.P.C. North Potomac, Md.
When Seeking Psychotherapy Kudos to Sharon Begley for highlighting an important but neglected topic in behavioral health (“Get Shrunk at Your Own Risk,” June 18). Psychotherapy is indeed a potent intervention. Research conducted over the last 40 years shows that it produces results equivalent to or greater in magnitude than many accepted and frequently performed medical procedures (e.g., coronary-bypass surgery). Sadly, the same studies confirm what Begley and the two psychologist experts she cites (Scott Lilienfeld and John Norcross) note: that on average 10 percent of people who enter treatment are worse off. The question, of course, is the cause. On this point, we respectfully disagree with Begley and the experts she cites. Fringe psychological treatments are available, but are far too rare to account for those either not helped or worse off following psychotherapy. Moreover, citing these extreme examples serves to distract professional organizations, licensing boards and quality-assurance agencies from addressing the real cause: ineffective therapists and poor therapist-client matches. The solution is simple: provide consumers with access to the results of individual health-care providers, and give providers ongoing feedback about the effectiveness of their services. Results from multiple carefully controlled clinical trials show that access to such data improves success while significantly decreasing the risk of deterioration. Scott D. Miller, Ph.D. Barry L. Duncan, Psy.D. Institute for the Study of Therapeutic Change Chicago, Ill.
When I lost someone I dearly love to suicide, I felt vaguely fortunate that my health insurance covered grief counseling, as everyone around me softly encouraged it. My physician nudged me to go and did the legwork for me, finding a therapist with extensive experience in grief therapy. I was not categorically opposed to counseling, having undergone various forms of it over the years. I was, however, anxious that in my raw state, anyone could possibly help me. I proved to be among the “four in 10” who “would have been better off without treatment.” My first session was hard enough to get out of bed to attend; the therapist’s words “Well, what I think you and I should work on is that this person is dead, the relationship is gone and you need to get on with your life” proved the trip to be not worth the effort. This insensitivity rattled me: it was less than a month after the funeral, and I was already shellshocked. Needless to say, I did not continue therapy. I’ve heard that group therapy, in particular for survivors of suicide, can be extremely helpful. I might someday try that, but two years into my grief, I am most grateful for the unconditional support of my family and close friends, who have proved to be the best therapy in my loss. Johanna Thomashefski San Francisco, Calif.
As a psychotherapist, I was pleased that you alerted readers to the dangers of some psychotherapies. But not all therapy techniques are potentially risky and untested. Cognitive behavioral therapy, which I practice, has undergone extensive scrutiny through dozens of patient trials. It has proved highly effective for depression, anxiety, trauma and eating disorders, and medical conditions such as chronic pain and insomnia. Brain-imaging studies even reveal that CBT can be as effective as some antidepressants. So there’s more to psychotherapy than years of ranting about Mom and Dad. Stacy Taylor Berkeley, Calif.
“Get shrunk at your own risk” is an unfortunate example of overreactive scare tactics that likely hurt the public more than actually inform them of important information. It is akin to warning people who need to be hospitalized to stay away from hospitals because they might be injured by medication mistakes or surgical errors, or they might catch a secondary infection, when everyone is willing to acknowledge that the potential good in hospitals far outweighs the potential risks. Such is the case with psychotherapy when done by a well-trained and ethical provider. Consumers need to remember that they have a responsibility to select a provider with care; choose one who has been trained at a respected, accredited university and accredited internship; make sure the provider is licensed and, ideally, a member of both national and state associations (e.g., American Psychological Association), and ask questions about therapy methods and experience levels. Not all mental-health providers are equal—just as in every other profession, where there are good providers and questionable ones. Good mental-health services are an extremely important part of overall health care, reducing costs in the workplace and in primary care when used appropriately. Sonja Benson, Ph.D. Licensed Psychologist Scottsdale, Ariz.
For the Record We were glad to see good news traveling fast about how highly qualified women are able to reenter the work force after taking time off to care for children (“Trying to Opt Back In,” May 28). However, an important detail was omitted from the piece: the research done by Leslie Morgan Steiner on the topic originated at More Magazine and appears in detail in our June issue (“Back in Business”). For our story, Leslie tracked down and talked to dozens of college-educated, professional women ages 40 to 59 and confirmed what we had already begun to suspect: that for many women, getting rehired is not the minefield we’ve come to dread. Peggy Northrop, Editor in Chief More Magazine New York, N.Y.
