Elder and Dependent Abuse Unit
Psychological Abuse
Psychological or emotional abuse is defined as the infliction of anguish, pain, or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts. Psychological/emotional abuse includes verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, and harassment. In addition, treating an elder/dependent person like an infant; isolating an elder/dependent person from their family, friends, or regular activities; giving an elder/dependent person the "silent treatment" and enforced social isolation are examples of emotional/psychological abuse.
Signs and symptoms of psychological/emotional abuse include:
- Elder/dependent adult acting emotionally upset or agitated
- Elder/dependent adult becoming extremely withdrawn, or non-responsive
- Elder/dependent adult displaying unusual behavior usually attributed to dementia (e.g., sucking, biting, rocking)
- An elder/dependent adult's report of being verbally or emotionally mistreated