Course content – PFLEGE-16
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The modules of this course – work through them in order.
3. Module 2 · Understanding the inner world
3.2. Application: translating behaviour into needs
Application
Translating behaviour into needs
Figure 2.3 shows five steps you can use whenever a statement or behaviour puzzles you. This page walks through the steps with one example and then asks you to try them yourself.
Figure 2.3: Five steps for understanding the inner world in an everyday situation. Source: own illustration.
Worked example: Mr Demir and the lorry
Mr Demir (fictitious), 86, drove lorries for forty years. Every morning at six he is dressed and waits at the front door. When staff say “You do not work any more”, he gets angry and shouts. Step by step:
- Hear it. The words are “I have to go to work”. The feeling: pride and worry about not being late.
- Wonder. The need could be to be useful, to keep a routine or to keep a role. It is probably not about the lorry itself.
- Check. Is he in pain? Does he need the toilet? Is he cold at the door? The staff check and find nothing urgent.
- Respond. A carer says, “You are an early starter, Mr Demir. Come and have a coffee first, then you can tell me about your routes.” He follows and talks happily.
- Share. The carer notes that the morning is a good time for a task. The team agrees on an “early shift job”: checking the post and watering the plants.
Notice that nobody lied. The carer did not say that the lorry was waiting. She also did not argue the facts. She answered the need.
Translation table: statement, possible need, response
| Statement | Possible need | Response |
|---|---|---|
| “I must pick up the children.” | Care, being needed | “You care a lot about them. Tell me about them.” |
| “Who are you? Get out!” | Safety, space | Step back, calm voice, say your name, offer to return later. |
| “Someone stole my purse.” | Control, security | “That is upsetting. Let us look together.” |
Exercise (voluntary self-check). Mrs Jansen (fictitious), 79, keeps taking the cushions off the sofa in the day room and stacking them by the door, saying “They have to be ready.” Other residents are annoyed. Use the five steps. What might Mrs Jansen need, and how could you respond without arguing?
Hint 1
Ask what “being ready” might mean for someone who once ran a household or a guesthouse.
Hint 2
Think of a response that lets her keep the activity or replaces it with a similar, useful task, and do not forget to check physical needs first.
Suggested answer
Possible needs: to be useful, to prepare a home, to keep a role from the past. After checking physical needs, say “You are well organised, Mrs Jansen. Shall we get everything ready together?” Give her a basket of towels to fold or a table to set. Explain to other residents calmly that she is busy with something important to her. Tell the team and note what worked. You have respected her need without correcting her. If the cushions become a safety issue, move them together with her, not behind her back.
Phrases that open a door
- “That sounds important to you. Tell me more.”
- “You seem worried. I am here.”
- “What was that like for you?”
- “Shall we do it together?”
In German practice you will hear …
- Biografiearbeit – life-history work, using a person’s past to understand and support them (Module 5).
- Verhaltensauffälligkeit – conspicuous behaviour; older word, now often replaced by “herausforderndes Verhalten” (challenging behaviour).
- Hinlauftendenz – tendency to walk off towards a goal, often used for exit-seeking.
- Validation – validation; used in German practice as in English (Module 3).
- Tagesstruktur – daily structure, the rhythm of the day that gives orientation.
- Angehörige – relatives, family members.
- Pflegebedürftige – people in need of care.