Counseling Neuro-Degenerative Disease Patients to Alleviate Their Distress and Torments

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This report describes the four-year research carried out into the role of counseling in caring for patients with neuro-degenerartive disease.The first phase of this research began with the investigation of 22 nurses' impressive experiences in caring for neuro-degenerative disease patients.The nurses identified the following problems :1) Difficulties in dealing with patient problems and distress ;2) Obstruction to the process of medical treatment ;3) The gap between the goal of treatment and the present condition of The dignity of the patient as a human being ; and4) The patient's closed mind.Then, a counseling needs assessment was conducted with hospitalized patients, and 10 percent of them were found to be our candidates. On three different occasions, 30 patients had counseling with counselors, and the following sources of anxiety were clarified : the worsening of their symptoms, difficulty in admitting their disease, the uncertain future, the dilemma of forming a relationship with others or of feeling estranged from them, fear about returning to their normal life, and desire to be understood by others.The above-mentioned results showed how important counseling was in caring for patients with neuro-degenerartive disease. As a result, a team of nurses and counselors worked together to offer a counseling service to 8 patients. It was found that all of the patients preferred being counseled by their own nurses, and also that counseling helped the nursea to understand their patients better than before.Finally, a follow-up survey was carried out and found that most of the patients who had undergone counseling while in hospital needed some counseling even after leaving the hospital.The overall results of this research revealed that neuro-degenerartive disease patients clearl need professional counseling with thier own nursing experts throughout the process of their illness.