News

Resilience Tip: One Thing at a Time

On May 19, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

By now, you’ve probably been bombarded with one stress after another. And then you hear one way to handle it after another. Resilience isn’t about doing anything perfectly or all at once.

Resilience Tip: Loss, Revisited

On April 28, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

Just when things are looking hopeful on the COVID front, we may find ourselves less than elated. We may have encouragement from lower COVID case counts, hospitalizations and death rates. This is progress. But, sometimes progress and hope improve our outlook and at the same time we are left perhaps more discouraged when losses continue or resurface.

Resilience Tip: Yourself as Medicine

On April 7, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

In senior care communities, there are a lot of medications passed in the hopes of improving or maintaining the health of residents. What’s often overlooked is all the care that you provide—for residents, colleagues and your own families—is essential medicine, too.

Resilience Tip:  Anniversaries and our Well Being

On March 17, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

This month marks the anniversary of when COVID arrived in Minnesota and began to ravage our facilities and dismantle our personal and professional lives.

The anniversary can leave us sad for what we have lost, angry that we are not over this yet and too exhausted from months of survival mode to feel good about our work. It can also cast doubt on whether the huge effort we have put into keeping things as good as possible even made a difference.

Resilience Tip: How Long Can We Be Resilient?

On March 10, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

You’re in good company if you’ve noticed some extra discouragement or frustration during a time when we have some glimmers of COVID-19 hope: vaccines have arrived and been delivered, and rates of death and hospitalization are down. So why do we feel so discouraged, tired or overwhelmed again?

Resilience Tip: Trauma & Resilience

On March 3, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

In senior care, many of us are doubling up on trauma exposure, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is one thing to experience a traumatic event personally—and another to do this in addition to watching others cope with trauma daily. This can have negative effects on our well-being. Fortunately, we can experience post-traumatic stress without this becoming a long-term issue. Our resilience strategies can help. 

Resilience Tip: Embracing “Good Enough”

On February 24, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

Today we’re focused on the drive to be perfect (or darn close). It’s not inherently bad; in fact, it has propelled many of us to get to our current status in personal and professional arenas. It can, however, take its toll on our well-being to be in pursuit of perfection versus accepting of “good enough.”

Resilience Tip: Grief & Resilience

On February 17, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

Grief and resilience: you can have both!

You probably understood that going to work in a senior care facility meant you would experience death more often than people working in other environments. However, expecting this and going through it are quite different things – especially when death rates are (sometimes significantly) higher than usual as we’ve seen during the COVID pandemic.

Resilience Tip: Sleep & Resilience

On February 10, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

You are in good company if you have noticed changes in your sleeping patterns during COVID-19. Because of factors like extra screen time, change in routines and increase in stress, we are prone to poor sleep at this time. Sleep is important not only for our well-being and stability of mood, but it is also linked to immune system function.

Resilience Tip: Taking Back Control

On February 3, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

As helpers, we pride ourselves on assisting those who have lost control of their lives in some manner. Residents may have memory loss, an injury, a loss of independence or feeling they’ve lost control of decisions made about their lives. For leaders, it’s important to guide staff with a sense of control that’s flexible and also conveys confidence and security.

Resilience Tip: Getting Past A COVID-19 Wall

On January 27, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

COVID-19 has been making our work and personal lives more difficult for close to a year now. During that time, you’ve probably hit a few walls of exhaustion. You might not be sure how you’ll keep going. And you’ve maybe hit this kind of wall more than once throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Resilience Tip: Building Resilience with Meditation Moments

On January 20, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

Short meditations on kindness provide a way to instill self- and other-focused compassion in order to combat our harsh and often hostile environments at home and as a larger community.

Resilience Tip: When the Art of Juggling becomes a Mandate

On January 13, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn from Associated Clinic of Psychology

We are coming up on the anniversary of when the COVID-19 pandemic hit our nation, our care facilities and every aspect of our lives. We were likely juggling many roles before the coronavirus: parent, professional, caretaker at home and work just to name a few. We might also have been struggling to find time for ourselves amidst all these demands pre-COVID.

Resilience Tip: Experiencing Grief

On January 6, 2021 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn, Associated Clinic of Psychology

While senior care staff are aware that their residents may die while in care, losing a resident during these COVID-19 days can be even more difficult. It can affect folks who worked closely with that person as well as those who have less direct contact with residents. 

Building Team Resilience: Acknowledgement

On December 16, 2020 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn, Associated Clinic of Psychology

Acknowledging what is right in front of us seems easy enough. We’re living through the shared experience of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.  However, on a regular basis, we tend to move through even the most difficult situations without acknowledging the huge impact it’s having on all of us.

Building Team Resilience During COVID-19: Nurturing for Self and Team

On December 9, 2020 by LeadingAge

Featuring Dr. Alyson VanAhn, Associated Clinic of Psychology

Our focus this week is on providing small doses of nurturing—for yourself and your team— in order to build resilience for all. In addition to the compliments we discussed in last week’s article, a focus on what’s most nurturing at a basic level can be very helpful to restore a sense of comfort in the most difficult times.