NUI Galway’s School of Psychology is seeking participants for a new study to examine the psychological factors which may have been protective for family carers of people with dementia in Ireland during the past year of the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Caroline Jennings, Psychologist in Clinical Training and Dr. Anne O’Connor, Lecturer of the Doctorate Programme in Clinical Psychology at NUI Galway are seeking family carers who may be interested in sharing their experience of coping during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
“Recent research from the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland has highlighted the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on the mental and physical health of people with dementia and their families,” they said.
“It has illuminated existing challenges in coping combined with the impact of service closures, reduced supports and increasing caring demands. The researchers hope to: “shine a light on the mental health impact of the pandemic and to understand whether different ways of coping were more or less protective for family carers”.
“Resilience is what helps us when we face challenges or when life takes a turn for the worse. A growing body of research suggests that having greater self-compassion may be protective against burn-out and be associated with greater resilience for professional caregivers, for example, healthcare professionals. We are examining whether this is also the case for family carers for loved ones with dementia in Ireland.
‘Self-compassion’ is about acknowledging and normalizing moments of suffering. It is about finding ways to be kind and compassionate to ourselves, rather than berating ourselves, when we experience difficult emotions, such as stress, anxiety, frustration, grief or low mood. For many of us, this ability does not come naturally. However, psychological research suggests that the ability to be more self-compassionate is a skill that can be potentially learned or enhanced with practice. We are trying to understand through this research whether this is something that would be helpful for family carers of loved ones with dementia”.
If you are a family carer of someone with dementia and would like to take part in this study, please visit https://bit.ly/NUIGalway-Survey-Dementia-FamilyCarers for more information and to complete the anonymous online survey.
