Elder care shapes Gallagher-Thompson’s career

By GRACE HAMMERSTROM

While working on her doctorate in the clinical psychology of aging at USC, Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, PhD, unexpectedly got some of the most important training in her life. Her mother experienced a series of small strokes, and Gallagher-Thompson went home to help care for her.

Over three to four years, she divided her time between graduate school in Los Angeles and home in New York, learning firsthand about the stresses of caring for a loved one incapable of caring for herself.

That emotionally taxing experience helped forge a new direction for her career in geropsychology. For the past 10 years, she has helped family caregivers cope with the enormous demands and stresses of caring for patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Gallagher-Thompson learned through personal experience how difficult being a caregiver for a close family member is. Her research focuses on helping minority women who face similar challenges.

Initially, Gallagher-Thompson worked in the field of depression in older adults as a staff psychologist at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. What she found surprised her. Depression often strikes family caregivers as well. That discovery inspired her to find ways to decrease the depression, frustration and exhaustion common among caregivers.

"Most caregivers experience a combination of negative emotions as they go through their caregiving career," explained Gallagher-Thompson, asso-ciate professor of psychiatry at the School of Medicine. With Alzheimer’s patients, caregiving responsibilities can last between 10 and 15 years. During that time, caregivers often experience mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, substance abuse issues and difficulties with physical health.

Reducing caregiver burnout

Gallagher-Thompson has developed a unique intervention program to help caregivers of dementia patients reduce burnout. Her psychologically oriented approach teaches caregivers hands-on coping skills, like those they would learn in therapy. It also brings them together with other caregivers for support.

Called "Coping with Caregiving," the classes are based on principles of stress management. Caregivers learn to manage their time better, acquire help from others, channel their thoughts more positively and prepare for the future. "It’s very practical information," said Gallagher-Thompson. "It helps them get more control over a situation that seems so overwhelming." And it’s an approach that works.

"Our multifaceted program does better than simple support groups," she said. Participants in these skills-based classes reported less depression, anxiety, stress and frustration than those who attended support-only groups. They also felt better able to cope positively and had a greater sense of control. Both groups reported an increase in social support.

Gallagher-Thompson continues to improve upon the basic intervention program. She has successfully modified the classes to target the different needs of Latina caregivers. And she is working to make the program appeal to the cultural values of Chinese Americans and African Americans.

Launching a new study

Gallagher-Thompson said her most exciting research is just getting started. She’s launching a new study with David Spiegel, MD, a pioneer in the field of group therapy for breast cancer patients.

Together, they will look at the effect caregiving has on a person’s physical as well as emotional health. Specifically, they will measure caregivers’ levels of a key hormone called cortisol before and after they complete the "Coping with Caregiving" program. The body produces cortisol when faced with acute or chronic stress. A pilot study of 80 caregivers showed they had irregular levels of the hormone, putting them at greater risk of heart disease and some cancers.

Gallagher-Thompson is currently recruiting Caucasian, Hispanic and Chinese women caregivers for this study. For more information or to volunteer, caregivers should call the multilingual outreach line at (800) 943-4333. They can also contact Gallagher-Thompson directly at (650) 493-5000, ext. 22005.