"Therapeutic Use of Self": The Concept of Action and Reaction in Dementia Care

There is tremendous benefit to understanding a simple concept: "action and reaction" as it relates to interacting with someone who has Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD).

This concept needs to be fully comprehended and acknowledged by all who interact with those with Alzheimer's/dementia in order to facilitate the best possible outcomes.


How it works


One person "acts" and the other person responds with a "reaction."

Here are some examples from everyday life:


Person 1: Smiles and says hello (initial behavior)


Person 2: Smiles back and asks how your day is going. (action)
Person 1: Pulls up a chair and begins to visit. (reaction)


Person 1: Walks into the office kitchen area and takes something out of the refrigerator (initial behavior)


Person 2: Coldly says, "Put that back. I wanted to drink that and it's the last one." (action)
Person 1: Puts the item back in the refrigerator and walks away with frustration. (reaction)


Person 1: "I am so overwhelmed. I don't know how I'm going to make it through this day."


Person 2: Says nothing. (action)
Person 1: No longer continues the discussion and leaves the room feeling unimportant. (reaction)


How someone acts when a behavior occurs predicts the tone of the reaction and the direction of the interaction thereafter.

You have the power shut someone down or open them up. You can acknowledge someone or ignore them. Your action to the behavior will drive the person's reaction.


Here's a common interaction example from a nursing home environment involving a person with ADRD and a staff member:


Resident: Walks up to the nurses' station and begins to explore some paper on the desk. (initial behavior)


Resident: Millie becomes angry, agitated, or sad and behaves accordingly. (reaction)


Staff Member Action Possibility 2: "Hi Millie. It's so nice to see you. How about you come sit with me and help me to fold these towels while I write my notes?" (action)
Resident: The resident feels noticed, important, and needed and happily engages in the activity. (reaction)


As the example above demonstrates, how you act when a behavior occurs is vital to what happens next.

Therefore, do not underestimate the power of your therapeutic use of self.

The benefits of therapeutic use of self have long been described in occupational therapy literature.


Ann Cronin Mosey states that conscious use of self is:


The therapeutic use of self in occupational therapy


As a therapist, begin to focus on and prioritize this aspect of intervention. Therapists must capture this as billable time as they discover actions that create the most successful reactions, yielding to outcomes that are Medicare reimbursable such as "maximizing function and safety."


This becomes an important part of our maintenance program. A therapist may spend 5, 10, or even 15 minutes on this type of intervention during many treatment sessions as we do things such as:

  2. Compliment the person on how they look or who they are

All of this intervention is for the intent of gaining trust and agreement, which can facilitate the use of the person's latent inner resources and abilities to maximize function and safety. This time, therefore, is billable, and so is the time spent in "failure." If one of your planned interactions does not produce the reaction outcome you're trying to facilitate, it's still valuable and billable time. You have learned from this and will not repeat the same type of intervention or action. Of course, for these therapy intervention experiences to have the greatest value, we then go on to teach others what will work to facilitate the use of the patient's inner resources and what will not.


Therapists and others often do not engage and hone their "therapeutic use of self" skills to the extent that they should be engaged when serving someone with Alzheimer's/dementia. This may be a primary reason for so many failed therapeutic interventions.

However, if the therapists DO successfully implement their therapeutic use of self, many do not give themselves the billable time credit.

Remember that for reimbursement of this time, you must paint the picture as to what intervention was provided and WHY. Time spent using therapeutic use of self should be intentional, planned, and with "reactions" observed and noted. This then is linked in your notes directly to the goals of maximizing the person's function and safety. The CPT code selected for this time will relate to your professional intent (e.g., improvements in self-care, walking, or communication).


Start practicing using your therapeutic use of self. I think you will be amazed at the better outcomes you achieve for your patients and the billable time you gain credit for.

Start now!


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