AAC Family Counseling & Support Groups 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which approach is most appropriate when a person with early-stage Alzheimer's wants to attend their own family counseling session?
- Exclude them because their cognitive impairment prevents meaningful participation
- Include them and adapt communication to their current abilities (Correct answer)
- Allow attendance only if they can answer direct questions accurately
- Require a physician's clearance before allowing them to attend
Correct answer: Include them and adapt communication to their current abilities
People with early-stage Alzheimer's retain the capacity to participate meaningfully when communication is adapted appropriately.
Question 2: The REACH II program (Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health) is best described as:
- A residential memory care placement program
- An evidence-based multicomponent intervention to reduce caregiver burden (Correct answer)
- A pharmaceutical treatment protocol for Alzheimer's caregivers
- A legal assistance program for families navigating guardianship
Correct answer: An evidence-based multicomponent intervention to reduce caregiver burden
REACH II is an evidence-based intervention addressing caregiver burden through skills training, education, and support.
Question 3: A caregiver reports they have not had a full night of sleep in months. In a counseling session, the most immediate focus should be on:
- Teaching advanced memory care techniques
- Identifying respite resources to address sleep deprivation (Correct answer)
- Discussing long-term care planning options
- Exploring the caregiver's childhood relationship with their parent
Correct answer: Identifying respite resources to address sleep deprivation
Chronic sleep deprivation is a health emergency requiring immediate practical intervention such as respite care.
Question 4: When a caregiver expresses anger at the person with Alzheimer's for 'not trying harder,' the counselor should:
- Correct the caregiver and explain that anger is inappropriate
- Validate the frustration and provide education about disease-driven behavior (Correct answer)
- Refer the caregiver to an anger management program
- Document the behavior as potential elder abuse
Correct answer: Validate the frustration and provide education about disease-driven behavior
Validating the caregiver's feelings followed by disease education helps reframe behavior as symptom-driven rather than intentional.
Question 5: Which is a key benefit of spousal caregiver support groups specifically, as opposed to general caregiver groups?
- Spouses receive legal advice on estate planning
- Members share the unique experience of caring for a partner, including intimacy and role changes (Correct answer)
- Spousal groups focus exclusively on medication management
- These groups are led by certified dementia physicians
Correct answer: Members share the unique experience of caring for a partner, including intimacy and role changes
Spousal caregivers face unique challenges including shifts in partnership roles and intimacy that are best addressed among peers with similar experiences.
Question 6: A family counselor is working with a family from a cultural background that values elder care within the family and views outside support as shameful. The counselor should:
- Challenge these beliefs as barriers to effective care
- Explore culturally congruent ways to provide support that honor family values (Correct answer)
- Refer the family to a counselor from their own cultural background only
- Document the refusal of outside help and close the case
Correct answer: Explore culturally congruent ways to provide support that honor family values
Culturally competent counseling explores how support can be framed and delivered in ways that align with the family's values.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of a 'memory café' in the context of Alzheimer's support?
- A café that serves memory-enhancing beverages and foods
- A social gathering for people with dementia and their caregivers in a welcoming community setting (Correct answer)
- A structured cognitive training program for early-stage Alzheimer's
- A virtual support group exclusively for caregivers
Correct answer: A social gathering for people with dementia and their caregivers in a welcoming community setting
Memory cafés provide an inclusive, stigma-free social environment for both people with dementia and their caregivers.
AAC Family Counseling & Support Groups 3
Which approach is most appropriate when a person with early-stage Alzheimer's wants to attend their own family counseling session?