AAC Family Counseling & Support Groups 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A family member says they feel guilty for placing their loved one with Alzheimer's in memory care. What is the most therapeutic counseling response?
- Reassure them that guilt is irrational and they should move on
- Validate the guilt feelings while exploring the care decisions that led to placement (Correct answer)
- Advise them to visit less frequently until the guilt subsides
- Suggest they speak only with the facility staff, not a counselor
Correct answer: Validate the guilt feelings while exploring the care decisions that led to placement
Validating feelings while exploring the decision-making process helps caregivers process guilt constructively.
Question 2: Which support group format is most effective for caregivers of people with late-stage Alzheimer's disease?
- Educational lecture series with no peer discussion
- Peer-led groups focused on shared experience and emotional support (Correct answer)
- Online forums only, to avoid emotional triggers
- Groups that exclude the topic of death and dying
Correct answer: Peer-led groups focused on shared experience and emotional support
Peer-led groups emphasizing shared experience provide emotional validation especially needed during late-stage caregiving.
Question 3: When facilitating a caregiver support group, a member begins to dominate the session with their own story. The facilitator should:
- End the session early to prevent conflict
- Allow it since every caregiver's story deserves full time
- Gently redirect by inviting input from other members (Correct answer)
- Ask the dominant member to leave the group temporarily
Correct answer: Gently redirect by inviting input from other members
Skilled facilitation involves redirecting to ensure all members have equal opportunity to participate.
Question 4: Adult siblings disagree about whether their parent with Alzheimer's should move to a facility. A counselor's primary role is to:
- Side with the sibling who has medical power of attorney
- Mediate communication and help siblings reach a shared decision (Correct answer)
- Recommend facility placement as the safest option
- Refer the family to the courts to resolve the dispute
Correct answer: Mediate communication and help siblings reach a shared decision
The counselor facilitates communication and collaborative decision-making rather than directing the outcome.
Question 5: Which of the following best describes 'anticipatory grief' in the context of Alzheimer's caregiving?
- Grieving that begins only after the person with dementia has died
- Grief experienced in response to the progressive losses occurring before death (Correct answer)
- A clinical disorder requiring immediate psychiatric treatment
- Grief that occurs when a caregiver first receives the diagnosis
Correct answer: Grief experienced in response to the progressive losses occurring before death
Anticipatory grief refers to mourning the ongoing losses of personality, memory, and relationship that occur throughout the disease course.
Question 6: A counselor notices a caregiver is isolating, not eating well, and expressing hopelessness. The counselor's priority should be to:
- Encourage the caregiver to focus more on their loved one's needs
- Screen for depression and connect the caregiver with mental health resources (Correct answer)
- Recommend the caregiver take a vacation
- Suggest the caregiver join a second support group
Correct answer: Screen for depression and connect the caregiver with mental health resources
Signs of caregiver depression require immediate screening and referral to appropriate mental health services.
Question 7: A long-distance family member insists they know best about care despite rarely visiting. How should a counselor address this in family sessions?
- Exclude the long-distance member from future sessions
- Acknowledge all perspectives while helping the family assign roles based on availability (Correct answer)
- Support the long-distance member since outsiders have more objectivity
- Ask the primary caregiver to manage the relationship independently
Correct answer: Acknowledge all perspectives while helping the family assign roles based on availability
Family counseling acknowledges all members' contributions while helping align roles with realistic capacity and involvement.
AAC Family Counseling & Support Groups 2
A family member says they feel guilty for placing their loved one with Alzheimer's in memory care.
What is the most therapeutic counseling response?