(The following Section Summaries are from "Making a Career of Counseling and Advising Caregivers, Special Issue of the Career Planning and Adult Development Journal. Volume 23, Number 4 Winter 2007 - 2008, Managing Editor Steven Beasley, Guest Editor: Sally Gelardin. To order, contact: admin@careernetwork.org .)
Introduction
This special issue of the Career Planning and Adult Development Journal showcases the many ways people go about caregiving. To enhance the knowledge of counselors about caregiver issues, I solicited contributions from an outstanding group of professionals, who share personal caregiving stories, overview the challenges of caregivers, and offer a variety of perspectives on how to address the needs of caregivers.
Articles are grouped under the following headings:
- Assessing caregiver strengths (Keis)
- Building internal and external support systems (Dashew, Liebhabers, McLean, Marcell)
- Staying balanced and falling out of balance (Marks, Rosenberg, Miller-Tiedeman)
- Aging in place and innovative live/work options (Christner-Lile, Muscat)
- Who gives or gets what? (Fieldler, Christner-Lile)
- Connecting mind, body, and spirit (Colozzi, Joseph, Sultan, Baptiste)
- Creating a legacy when time is running out (Cox, Gelardin)
- Introducing a Family Caregiver Wellness Model (Gelardin)
This Journal issue provides a rationale for caregiver support and offers cues for creating a 21st Century Family Caregiver Wellness Model. Although most of the articles relate to eldercare, many of the suggestions and concepts can be applied to caregiving for individuals of all ages with special needs.
Building Internal and External Support Systems
Career professionals know how important support systems are in making a career change, looking for a job or making a personal transition. Becoming a family caregiver is a major transition that can affect both personal and work life. From the perspective of a loved one being cared for, Gail Liebhaber courageously shares insights into building both internal and external sources of support. As caregivers, Leslie Dashew and Ruvin Liebhaber describe how they built external sources of support and give tips for caregivers in ways to coordinate caregiving responsibilities of the support team. Jacqueline Marcell and Pamela McLean discuss their personal experience with Dementia and Alzheimer’s and offer strategies for developing internal and external sources of support specific to these two illnesses.
Assessing Caregiver Strengths
The Family Caregiver Alliance identifies five main reasons for conducting a caregiver assessment and lists areas that need to be addressed. Ken Keis presents an assortment of online and hard copy tools that can be used to assess caregiver strengths and to identify areas where they could use support. I asked Ken to contribute to this issue because he approaches assessment from a “whole person” viewpoint. I believe that whole person wellness is especially important for caregivers since they are often coping with long-term stressful situations. With knowledge and experience in administering assessment tools, counselors can (a) show caregivers how to access appropriate assessment tools, (b) help caregiver clients interpret results, and (c) assist caregivers in developing strategies to apply their strengths and needs to specific caregiving situations.
Staying Balanced and Letting Oneself Fall Out of Balance
It is an understatement to say that caregivers have a difficult time balancing caregiving, career and self-care. Linda Marks offers a plan, resources, and support for workers who have caregiving responsibilities. Renee Rosenberg discusses the stressful effect of caregiving on retired workers and outlines a way to cope with stress that includes laughter. Anna Tiedeman’s article is about love and letting oneself fall out of balance while managing the caregiving situation. She advocates enjoying each moment in the caregiving situation without casting out to the future or thinking back to the past.
Aging in Place and Innovative Live-Work Options
Seniors are on the move. Whether they stay in their homes or move to active or assisted living situations, they often have need for adaptive technology and other caregiving assistance, usually managed by family caregivers. Donna Christner-Lile describes what is required to perform well in a new field – “move management.” Eugene Muscat explores emerging community-supported, live-work situations for caregivers and their loved ones.
Connecting Mind, Body, and Spirit
At one time or another in one’s life, the mind, body or spirit may break down, sometimes individually, sometimes in chorus, often while caregiving or experiencing loss. Edward Colozzi describes a spiritual way to manage the caregiving situation of a loved one with grace. Lynn Joseph offers a series of guided imagery audio recordings that caregivers can access to relieve stress and revitalize energy in brief time intervals. Craig Sultan explains what it feels like to be seeing impaired and what to do about it. Sherri Baptiste shares easy yoga poses and a philosophy that caregivers can practice to integrate mind, body, and spirit.
Who Gives or Gets What
Financial issues are one of the most stressful topics for caregivers and their loved ones to address. Julie Fiedler, attorney and registered nurse, who specializes in estate and elder law, discusses estate planning from both a personal and professional viewpoint. Donna Christner-Lile approaches the financial costs of caregiving from the perspective of a family caregiver counselor. In conjunction with her article, Gary Alt responds to frequently asked questions related to financial planning.
Creating a Legacy When Time Is Running Out
Today’s technology brings yesterday’s stories to tomorrow’s generation. “Don’t wait until the loved one has passed,” advises Lis Cox. Individuals who are experiencing life threatening situations sometimes create their own testimonials before they pass. Lis explains how caregivers can involve the loved one in creating family movies or enlist the support of a professional or family member to create family movies based on digital recordings of interviews, combined with old photos and videos. Sally Gelardin shares online and print storytelling examples and arts ideas that can be adapted by caregivers who want to go beyond everyday chores to create meaningful activities that they can enjoy with their loved one.
Family Caregiver Wellness Model
Eldercare in the 21st century will become a primary source of employment as boomers age. Already many states support Medicare reimbursement for time spent caring for family members. More than one quarter of the adult population has provided care for a chronically ill, disabled, or aged family member or friend during the past year. According to the National Family Caregiver Alliance (2000), elderly spousal caregivers (age 66-96) who experience caregiving- related stress have a 63% higher mortality rate than non-caregivers of the same age. They die ten years younger than the person for whom they are caring. These statistics point to a need for a Family Caregiver Wellness Model.
For more information, contact Dr. Sally Gelardin, info @agingworks.org
