Physical abuse in nursing homes is a serious issue. However, abuse can be more subtle than violence.
Emotional abuse may not be physical, but it can do long-term damage to nursing home residents. What does emotional elder abuse look like?
Humiliation
Those who engage in emotional abuse often try to lower the victim’s self-esteem over time. This may consist of making degrading statements in front of other nursing home residents and trying to encourage other residents to laugh at the victim. Or, abusive staff may scold the residents and wrongly accuse them of doing something wrong. Humiliating residents is unacceptable, and it can constitute nursing home abuse.
Isolating residents
Another form of emotional abuse is making a resident feel isolated. Being social can help vulnerable people to feel better. Abusive staff are aware of this and utilize emotional abuse to take this privilege away from the victim. An abusive staff member may purposely put a victim’s walker out of reach so they cannot attend social activities. Or, they may falsely state that other group members do not like the victim, so they shouldn’t bother coming.
Threats and abuse
Emotional abuse can also consist of abuse and threats. While the abuser may never use physical violence, they can threaten it. The fear of violence is often every bit as scary as the use of violence.
Emotional abuse typically involves manipulation over a long period of time. This is an unlawful practice that nursing home staff should not engage in. To find out more about the law in this area, it may be helpful to seek legal guidance.