The caregiving in neurodegenerative diseases. From the difficulties of giving care to integrated interventions

The increased life expectancy and aging in the general population has caused an increment of individuals affected by neurodegenerative diseases in the chronic condition of disability. Many are family members who decide to look after their beloved ones in their homes, but the progression of the disease leads to an increase in the caregivers’ stress levels that have a remarkable impact on their wellbeing. In this way, the caregivers become patients who need to be looked after by mental health professionals, who should look at their human complexity together with their own history, and from a multidisciplinary and integrated perspective. Such an approach would not only produce positive effects from a physical and psychological point of view, but also financially and socially. The aim of this paper is to suggest a series of multidisciplinary approaches that, in their complexity, would allow mental health professionals to provide adequate interventions to caregivers.

Keywords: Caregiver, Dementia, Stress, Care, Multidisciplinary, Psychoeducation.

Alessandra Maccaferri, Ada Cozza, Il caregiving nelle patologie dementigene. Dalla fatica della cura agli interventi integrati in "PNEI REVIEW" 2/2020, pp 55-64, DOI: 10.3280/PNEI2020-002006