Depressed Residents

The purpose of this activity is to identify and increase pleasant events of an individual
by reducing depression, providing sense of efficacy and improving relationships with family
members.
The residents should be able to process words but if not possible he/she should
interpret signs. They should respond to either verbal cues, visual cues or both
The goal of this activity is identification and increase of pleasant events, developing
strategies that increase involvement in meaningful activities, and reducing or preventing
depressive behaviours of the individual. This will help in changing and reducing depression
symptoms. The activity should identify how thoughts, attitudes, feelings, ideas and
behaviours affect day to day life(Stuss, Winocus, & Robertson, 2008).
The materials needed in this activity are drinking glass, spoon and plate.
The duration of time taken for the activity was an hour. The patient in the middle of
session represented disinterest and tiredness cues. I started with verbal cues, talking to the
patient slowly by use of specific verbal command. At his stage, the verbal language was
confusing and thus I reduced the number of words and introduced signals rather than words.
To facilitate the communication, I used signals such as pointing, handing and touching.
The signals followed the command to help the patient relate and assimilate the
information. I would point an item with a command to pick it; the patient would understand
and pick the items. At some instances I had to pick the item for him or put it at a visual field
away from others. Hand-over-hand turned out to help in completion of the task. For example
using the spoon and plate, I helped him in to the self-feeding motion which was difficult at
first but advanced with some trials.

Cognitive behaviour therapy need to be improved as it does not suit everyone. It
requires the patient to be persistent and committed in tackling and improving their health
problem requiring hard work. Sometimes the assignments are challenging and difficult
requiring the patient to be removed from their comfort zone causing distress and anxiety. The
adoption should be improved to enhance comfort, reduce fatigue and help improve the well-
being of an individual.

Work Cited

Stuss, D., Winocus, G., & Robertson, I. (2008). Cognitive neurorehabilitation. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.