Senior Care Psychological Consulting Counseling and Assessment Services: St. Louis, Missouri
Who are we, how are we different?
Senior Care Psychological Consulting is a strictly geriatric psychology practice based in St. Charles County Missouri. All clinicians providing services are doctoral level psychologists who provide services to seniors and individuals with chronic medical and mental health concerns in nursing homes and long term care facilities throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Senior Care’s Clinical Director (Paul Susic Ph.D. Licensed Psychologist) has been known for providing high quality geriatric psychology services to the senior community for well over 25 years. In developing Senior Care Psychological Consulting, he has developed an effective model based upon genuine care and concern for the patient and the utilization of the latest research-based models for providing care. After nearly a decade of providing and supervising the provision of care to the senior community at Incarnate Word Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri he has brought this same concern and level of effectiveness to the community. In addition to utilizing an office-based practice in St. Charles, Missouri, Senior Care provides counseling and assessment to nursing homes and other long term care facilities and will even make house calls when appropriate and clinicians are available.
How effective is Senior Care Psychological Consulting?
Senior Care provides only high quality doctoral level licensed psychologists and relies upon various research based outcomes measures in addition to our clinical observations and discussions with other healthcare providers and family members, to enhance our effectiveness. Our effectiveness studies for patients living at home and in nursing homes continue to demonstrate an average of approximately 30-60% improvement in depressive and anxious symptoms for patients already on psychotropic medications. Current research continues to demonstrate the effectiveness of psychotherapy without medication as well as the significant additive effect when patients are on medication, as well as that improvements in psychological symptoms reduce mortality, improve quality of life, and reduce the incidence of falls among the elderly.
How can we help you?
Our approach for a community based individual is to maximize their functioning and quality of life in an effective, measurable manner. Our focus is a little different in the nursing home environment in that we emphasize our assistance to both the resident and the nursing home. We provide a regular, consistent presence (usually weekly), and spend significant time with the patient to ensure maximum care. Also, we focus our efforts on assisting the nursing facility in providing and documenting significant psychosocial interventions to assist in meeting the requirements of OBRA. We provide free inservicing to staff, assist with families (including family therapy) when appropriate, and emphasize collaboration with the attending physicians and psychiatrists to ensure the maximum in functionality and quality of life to the resident.
Ultimately, what benefits does Senior Care Psychological provide?
Our emphasis is on improving quality of life, decreasing vacancy through hospitalization and mortality, reducing staff time with demanding residents, in servicing, assisting with state and federal requirements (primarily OBRA) and establishing mutually beneficial long-term referral relationships.
