Home Visits

Guidelines for Working with Older Adults

Reflection:
It is essential to address and reflect upon the ageism and ableism we hold as a society and as individuals.
We affirm that healing can take place along the entire lifespan.

Communication tips:

Speak loudly and clearly.
Slow down. Allow time after asking one question at a time.
Don’t make assumptions about how they’d like to be addressed. Start out with an honorific (Mr. or Mrs. Smith) and then ask how they’d prefer to be addressed.
Address privacy and confidentiality concerns. Many older adults are sensitive to being infantilized or treated as though they lack capacity.
Be mindful of client autonomy: therapy and sensitive topics may be culturally taboo. Hold a destigmatizing stance.
Challenge your assumptions about older adults and what you bring up in therapy. For example, do you not bring up sex or death because of your assumptions or your own discomfort? Utilize individual and group supervision for reflection!

Guidelines for Home Visits

Who:

Home visits are for our home-bound or mobility-impaired elders (65+). However, Home Visits can be offered for clients in the school-based program to encourage family engagement or if they have requested to continue therapy services over the summer.

Where:

Home visits take place at a client’s home which may be a private residence, shared home, assisted living facility, or nursing home. Clinicians have also met clients in parks, sidewalks, front porches, restaurants where some privacy could be maintained, depending on clinician & client preferences.

How:

Add your visit to Google Calendar to provide a way for others to know when you are making a home visit. Review the instructions HERE
- While signed in to your work account, click “Create” and then “Event.”
- Add dates and times, identifying your client only by initials
- Under “Add rooms or location,” choose a therapy room or add the address of your client. You will only be allowed to choose and save the therapy room if it is available.
Your personal safety is paramount. Discuss COVID precautions during initial phone call. Be genuine about what you need in order to be present with your client
Identify a CSS “safety partner” to check-in with date and location of visit.
Being aware of the clinician’s own personal safety, like bed bugs, pets, health concerns, environmental hazards
Give yourself extra travel time
Plan how you manage time (set an alarm on your phone)
Arrive early, and plan to drive by site before first visit
Collaborate on finding the best space and continue to check in
Research nearby bathrooms, just in case
Be patient with other members of the household
Welcome the client introducing you to their home (showing photos, sharing memories)
Develop a relationship with staff when you have a client in a facility
Be respectful of client’s space, don’t ask to move furniture
Allow the client to take the lead, it’s their home. Have them pick where they’d like to meet while being mindful of privacy.
Always being mindful to find out if others are in the home. Making sure you bring up wanting to respect privacy, so asking to meet in a quiet place if they have others in the home
Consider using Home Visit Safety Checklist from Naomi White: https://fieldeducator.simmons.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Home-Visit-Safety-Checklist.pdf
Debrief and process in individual and/or group supervision

Sources

Allen, S.F. & Tracy, E.M. (2008) “Developing Student Knowledge and Skills for Home-Based Social Work Practice” Journal of Social Work Education, Vol. 44 (No. 1),125-143. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.naswma.org/resource/resmgr/Safety/Safety_Allen.pdf

White, N.W. (2013) “Home Visiting in the Internship” The Field Educator: A Scholarly Journal from the Simmons College School of Social Work, Vol 3.1, 1-5. https://fieldeducator.simmons.edu/article/home-visiting-in-the-internship/