Episode 42: Navigating Dementia in Your Holidays with Dr. Josepha Cheong

Mind Dive

Dr. Josepha Cheong, M.D. chose a medical career to follow in her father’s footsteps. On her journey to become a surgeon, a fateful rotation during her clinicals directed her path towards psychiatry. Dr. Cheong’s work has focused on geriatric psychiatry in the hopes of further understanding dementia and other cognitive diseases.

This episode of Menninger Clinic’s Mind Dive Podcast features Dr. Cheong, accomplished physician and psychiatrist joining hosts Dr. Kerry Horrell and Dr. Bob Boland for an extended look at dementia and how caregivers and family members of those with the disease can navigate the hectic holiday season.

Dr. Josepha Cheong is a professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine, instructing in the Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology. She is board-certified in general and geriatric psychiatry and currently serves as a physician with the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Care Center (GRECC) and as a geriatric psychiatry consultant for the National Expert Consultations and Specialized Services-Mental Health (NEXCSS-MH). In addition, she serves as a director at both the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

One of the most frequently asked questions in Dr. Cheong’s experience is how family members can identify when memory loss has become something more. “Dementia is a very general term that refers to memory impairment and then impairment of another brain function,” said Dr. Cheong. The doctor also stresses that dementia is never just an illness of the patient, but one of the family and the support structure, since the burden of care falls on everyone in the patient’s life.

With holiday stress approaching, especially for families of dementia patients who need to travel, Dr. Cheong emphasizes the importance of balancing flexibility and routine for caregivers. “Did you raise kids? Do you remember what it’s like traveling with 3- to 7-year-old? That’s how you want to play it,” she said.

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