Nursing homes are designed to be a safe haven for seniors who need regular care. It should be the last place they ever want to experience abuse – let alone in its emotional and psychological form. Just because there are little to no physical signs present, doesn’t mean abuse is non-existent.
The non-physical signs we’ll discuss in this article. It is important to make sure that your senior loved one is protected from such abuse in their nursing home. We will discuss the contributing factors along with examples of what constitutes emotional and psychological abuse.
Later, we will provide you with recommendations on what to do if your senior loved one has experienced emotional abuse in their nursing home. Let’s begin this guide now.
Abuse in nursing homes by the numbers
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) states that five million senior Americans experience abuse annually. A large number of the victims live in nursing homes. One quarter of seniors and their families have at least reported one incident that has occurred.
In a secret survey taken by nurses and nursing aids at these facilities, more than 80 percent of the nearly 600 that participated have witnessed emotional elder abuse with at least one incident taking place annually. Nearly three-quarters of those surveyed say that they have seen their co-workers berate or yell at residents while nearly half of them witnessed them engaging in insulting and harassment. These numbers are quite alarming – especially when they are reported by individuals that work in nursing homes.
Could it happen in a place where your senior loved one lives? It may be. You never know if they might be a victim or not.
What could be the contributing factors of emotional abuse in nursing homes?
This is a question that gets asked often. What could be considered a contributing factor to emotional abuse in nursing homes? We could zoom this out a bit and find a connection that pertains to the act itself.
In other words, emotional abuse can happen anywhere and to almost anyone. The people who administer it are those who tend to be controlling and take pleasure in one’s misery and pain. They may be considered narcissistic, sadistic, or psychopathic.
Even scarier is the fact that such emotional abuse comes from people who have power and authority. In the case of nursing homes, you have the staff whose job is to direct and assist the residents. They do have some kind of authority in regards to making sure the residents they care for are following regular instructions such as their regular medication.
Some nursing home staff may feel like they’re more powerful over the residents they oversee. Therefore, they make it a point to inflict emotional abuse on them. This is behavior that should not be exhibited in a place where care and compassion are a priority.
That is why nursing home management needs to take the necessary measures to hire the right people. People who have excellent character and should not have concerning issues that may affect the morale of their co-workers and the residents. Management should implement measures that deter abuse or neglect of any kind in a nursing home setting.
Thus, another contributing factor may be poor management and oversight. Nevertheless, emotional abuse can lead to long-lasting negative effects for your senior loved one if they are a victim.
What are the types of emotional abuse?
There are different types of emotional abuse that exist in nursing homes. Each has their own negative affect and impact on residents. Let’s take a look at what they are now along with a few examples:
Verbal abuse
This includes staff yelling or berating at residents for whatever reason. Examples include a resident who may be forgetting simple things or the inability to perform certain tasks. Such abuse may inflict fear and intimidation on senior loved ones.
The staff may scream insults at the resident in an effort to mentally “beat them down” and make them feel less worthy.
Psychological abuse
An example of this kind of abuse pertains to manipulation and control. It may also be associated with financial exploitation, which is another form of abuse pertaining to the financial accounts in the name of your senior loved one. They may be manipulated into doing things that a resident may not be comfortable doing for whatever reason.
Isolation and humiliation may also play a role in psychological abuse. Especially when a staffer will inflict it on a senior resident in front of many others.
Emotional neglect
Ignoring the needs of a resident may qualify as emotional neglect. As such, they may perform such acts like isolating your senior loved one away from others. This can be something that can damage a person emotionally and mentally.
A staffer may take it a step further and make excuses regarding a senior loved one not being able to visit their family. This is an unacceptable form of emotional abuse, no matter how you slice it. If you are visiting a senior loved one and you are unable to visit, ask for an explanation.
You may want to bring up any incidents to nursing home management if something seems amiss. It may be unusual for staff members to isolate a resident for unexplained reasons.
What are the warning signs of emotional abuse?
It is important that you know the warning signs of emotional abuse as soon as possible. That’s because once confirmed, you need to take the necessary steps to ensure that your senior loved one is no longer in an unsafe environment. At the same time, you will need to make sure you’re taking other steps to ensure that the bad deeds against them don’t go unpunished.
Here’s a look at the following warning signs of emotional abuse to look out for:
Behavioral changes
Knowing your senior loved one, you know of a baseline idea of how they normally behave. But if you start noticing such changes – subtle or obvious – you may be raising a red flag for concern. Such behavioral changes include withdrawal and isolation.
Unexplained changes in mood may also be a sign as well. If it’s out of place and unusual, you know that something is wrong.
Communication issues
This includes your senior loved one being fearful and avoidant of staff members. Including those who may have administered abuse to them. They may make statements that are inconsistent or contradictory – especially if they’re apparent abusers are in their presence.
For example, they may make a false claim about something that has happened to them (i.e – “I fell and hit my head”). When in reality, they can’t tell you the real truth while an abuser is still close by.
Physical indicators
Yes, there are physical indicators to emotional abuse that don’t involve injuries you normally see in physical abuse. But there are such indicators like weight loss or gain and even a change in sleep patterns. It may get to a point where your senior loved one may not want to take care of themselves (even though they normally do).
Nonetheless, it is important to keep an eye out for these indicators along with the other signs that we have listed above.
What do you do once emotional abuse is confirmed?
The short answer: take action. The longer answer is reporting this abuse to nursing home management. It is highly advised that you do not stop there. You should also get documentation that confirms this abuse as well.
In the event that nursing home management decides to “sweep it under the rug”, consult with a lawyer as soon as possible. This can be someone that specializes in elder law. Such emotional abuse to your senior loved one can be grounds for a civil suit that you can file on their behalf.
It can be on the abusers or the nursing home itself. Also, it is highly advisable that you remove your senior loved one from the facility as soon as possible. This will ensure their health and well-being going forward.
Please make sure you have arrangements for them when this happens. Even if it means letting them live with you (while taking care of them), it’s better than staying in a place that is supposed to be safe when in reality it isn’t.
Conclusion
If you noticed any emotional abuse in your senior loved one, you must take action as soon as possible. You now have a list of what to look for in terms of warning signs. Also, you now have a deeper understanding of a type of abuse that is prevalent in a nursing home setting.
Please do not take any chances. Your senior loved one deserves to live in a safe environment free for abuse. They are the kind of people worth fighting for. Contact our team to discuss legal action.
