Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Get the science on helping reduce stress in family caregivers of people with dementia: Details the best tools for assessment and explores evidence-based approaches Reflects on diversity, equity, and inclusion Includes downloadable handouts Guidance for supporting family caregivers on maintaining positive mental health This is the first book that takes a "deep dive" to answer the questions that mental health providers encounter when working with family caregivers. Just what are the unique issues family caregivers face? How does this impact their mental health? What can providers do to help? Based on research and clinical experiences of the authors, this volume in our Advances in Psychotherapy series focuses on examining the specific issues that caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia face. Practitioners learn about the best tools for assessment and which evidence-based interventions help reduce caregiver distress – including cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness and multicomponent intervention programs. Resources in the appendix include a caretaker intake interview, and the book is interspersed with clinical vignettes that highlight issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion – making this is an essential text for mental health providers from a variety of disciplines including psychology, psychiatry, nursing, social work, marriage and family counseling, as well as trainees in these disciplines.

As the largest generation in U.S. history - the population born in the two decades immediately following World War II - enters the age of risk for cognitive impairment, growing numbers of people will experience dementia (including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias). By one estimate, nearly 14 million people in the United States will be living with dementia by 2060. Like other hardships, the experience of living with dementia can bring unexpected moments of intimacy, growth, and compassion, but these diseases also affect people's capacity to work and carry out other activities and alter their relationships with loved ones, friends, and coworkers. Those who live with and care for individuals experiencing these diseases face challenges that include physical and emotional stress, difficult changes and losses in their relationships with life partners, loss of income, and interrupted connections to other activities and friends. From a societal perspective, these diseases place substantial demands on communities and on the institutions and government entities that support people living with dementia and their families, including the health care system, the providers of direct care, and others. Nevertheless, research in the social and behavioral sciences points to possibilities for preventing or slowing the development of dementia and for substantially reducing its social and economic impacts. At the request of the National Institute on Aging of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America assesses the contributions of research in the social and behavioral sciences and identifies a research agenda for the coming decade. This report offers a blueprint for the next decade of behavioral and social science research to reduce the negative impact of dementia for America's diverse population. Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America calls for research that addresses the causes and solutions for disparities in both developing dementia and receiving adequate treatment and support. It calls for research that sets goals meaningful not just for scientists but for people living with dementia and those who support them as well. By 2030, an estimated 8.5 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease and many more will have other forms of dementia. Through identifying priorities social and behavioral science research and recommending ways in which they can be pursued in a coordinated fashion, Reducing the Impact of Dementia in America will help produce research that improves the lives of all those affected by dementia.

This field guide covers mental health myths, diagnostic controversies, questionable assessment practices, and dubious treatments.

We would like to acknowledge that Dr. Monica Margoni, University of Padua, Italy, has acted as a coordinator and has contributed to the preparation of the proposal for this Research Topic.