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The purpose of this study was to determine whether patient dementia diagnostic type (Alzheimer's Disease/Vascular Dementia) is associated with caregiver burden. A retrospective case review was conducted of patient and caregiver information collected at a university-based dementia clinic. Results showed that primary dementia diagnosis was not associated with burden. Rather, psychotic symptoms paired with poor IADL functioning generated the most burden, while cognitive dysfunction did not significantly influence burden. Additionally, caregiver gender (female), depressive symptoms, and being an adult child of the care recipient were associated with increased caregiver burden. Findings advocate for including tailored designs in caregiver interventions.

The profession of psychology is responding to this culture's rapidly changing problems related to an aging population. A central theme regarding the training of clinical geropsychologists has been that education should be sequentially organized across levels, from undergraduate, to graduate, internship, postdoctoral, and continuing education for current practitioners. This paper addresses issues related to geropsychology training at the internship level. We address the need for such training and consider a generic model that outlines competency areas and activities that should be included in an internship program's geropsychology training component. We discuss further one model for implementing a multi-site, multi-level geropsychology training program, and consider issues the of recruiting, identifying training sites, and coordinating with other disciplines. We then consider future goals and plans.