Caregiver's Compass

The holidays can be a very difficult time as a caregiver- add the stress of being a parent, and negative emotions can go to a whole other level.

In this episode, Stephanie discusses some common concerns and stressors that may be faced as a parent in the sandwich generation during the holiday season. She also provides suggestions and tips in regards to navigating this time so you can try and make the holidays as enjoyable as possible for you, your kids and your aging loved one.

Visit us on our website:
   www.compassionincaregiving.com


For more visit our Instagram! @compassionincaregiving

The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or Compassion in Caregiving.

Brandon Burke is an inspiring author who has taken the impact of his experience as a young caregiver and turned it into a passion for helping others in similar situations. In this episode Brandon talks about the shock of his dad’s diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s and how caring for his father changed his life’s trajectory and overall meaning of life. 

 About Brandon:

As an adolescent, Brandon saw the effects of Alzheimer’s disease, specifically the havoc it wreaks on the diagnosed and the interruption of life it causes for caregivers, through the diagnosis of his beloved grandmother; but he never dreamed how that would shape his adult life.

In 2015, Brandon was faced with the realities of Alzheimer’s disease front and center when his father, Gary, was diagnosed. He immediately understood that this diagnosis would change the trajectory of his life forever.

On Nov. 1, 2020, Brandon released his first book, Rediscovering Dad and Discovering Myself: A Journey Through the Impact of Alzheimer’s. “I believe that sharing our stories is our superpower. We realize just how connected we all are when we have the courage to open ourselves up to others. You never know how your story can impact the life of someone else until you share. It just might save them,” Brandon relates.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, and a graduate of Hampton University, Brandon currently resides in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

Find Brandon:

On Instagram: @brandontheauthor
 
 Http://brandontheauthor.com

Visit us on our website:
   www.compassionincaregiving.com


For more visit our Instagram! @compassionincaregiving

The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or Compassion in Caregiving.

Registered Dietitian Molly Robinson discusses some of the common nutrition concerns of care partners and talks about the importance of having an experienced dietician involved in the care team of an individual with dementia. She explains the differences between a dietician and speech language pathologist and how it is very possible to introduce a variety of foods and drink other than the meal supplements that may often be suggested by some members of a care team.

Molly Robinson a registered dietitian with more than 18 years of experience and a passion for nutritional care in dementia. She specializes in providing support and solutions for families and care partners to nourish through the nutrition challenges that often come with the dementia journey. Molly believes in a dignified dining experience and promoting independence and quality of life with food throughout the dementia journey.  

She coaches caregivers in strategies to relieve stress at mealtime, improve nutritional status and prevent or stop weight loss.

Find Molly on Instagram: @dementia.nutritionist
 

Visit us on our website:

www.compassionincaregiving.com

 
For more visit our Instagram! @compassionincaregiving

The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host or Compassion in Caregiving.

Do you feel like it's extremely difficult for you to ask for help as a caregiver? You are NOT alone. As caregivers it can be daunting to ask for support. You may face extreme guilt, shame or just be truly unsure of where to go for support. Or maybe you have tried asking for help in the past, only to be faced with rejection or disappointment from the help you received. In this episode, Stephanie discusses the reasons as to why it may be so difficult to seek support as a caregiver and provides techniques that can assist you in doing so. Finally, she talks about why it is so important to seek help as a caregiver. 

Visit us on our website:
  www.compassionincaregiving.com

For more visit our instagram! @compassionincaregiving

*The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.*

In this episode Stephanie discusses the realities and debunks the myths when it comes to therapy. She talks about the benefits that therapy can provide for caregivers and the lasting changes that can result from a positive therapeutic alliance. She also touches upon the variety of mental health clinicians that can be accessed and what therapists vs. psychiatrists vs. psychologists may be able to provide to clients. 

Visit us on our website:
  www.compassionincaregiving.com

 
For more visit our instagram! @compassionincaregiving

*The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.*

Music therapy yields fantastic outcomes and in this episode, board certified music therapist Karla Wilson discusses how clients can now access music therapy online and benefit from this remarkable field. Stephanie discusses the impact music has had on her mother and Karla shares shocking and immediate outcomes of her work with clients. 

Karla Wilson, founder of Music Therapy at Home, is a board certified music therapist with many years of clinical experience optimizing the transformative power of music for clients with wide-ranging needs across the life span.   By providing exceptional, compassionate and convenient virtual music therapy services, Karla’s music therapy practice, Music Therapy at Home, fulfills her mission of reaching those
who may not otherwise have access to a music therapist in their community or who need to receive services in their own homes.  Karla specializes in supporting: those living with dementia or chronic illness; adults with developmental disabilities and medical complexities; those receiving hospice care;
individuals coping with grief and loss.  Having been a family caregiver multiple times herself, Karla is passionate about supporting the unique journeys taken by family caregivers.  

Find Karla:

[email protected]
www.musictherapyathome.come
@musictherapyathome on Instagram

Visit us on our website:
  www.compassionincaregiving.com


For more visit our instagram! @compassionincaregiving

*The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.*

In today's episode, Certified Dementia Practitioner, Carrie Aalberts, discusses her role as the director of an adult daycare center and the true benefits and changes she has seen in the center's participants. Carrie and Stephanie also discuss navigating financial considerations when locating an adult daycare center and truly finding the right fit. Carrie has a true passion for her work and her work's outcomes which is very evident in this uplifting episode! 

Carrie Aalberts (Dementia Darling) is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and has her Master of Science degree focused in gerontology. She is currently the Director of an adult daycare center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dementia Darling provides support, education and community to dementia caregivers.

Find Carrie on Instagram: http:/www.instagram.com/dementiadarling

Tik Tok: @dementiadarling

Visit us on our website:
  www.compassionincaregiving.com

For more visit our instagram! @compassionincaregiving

*The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.*

In this episode, family health lawyer Lisa Feldstein goes into the nitty gritty when it comes to the tough legal decisions pertaining to caregiving including: the law surrounding health decisions, financial decisions and consent and capacity. Real cases are discussed and common legal scenarios are touched upon in this very informative episode. 

About Lisa:

Lisa Feldstein is the principal lawyer at Lisa Feldstein Law Office. Lisa is a graduate of  Osgoode Hall Law School and the University of Guelph, where she studied psychology. Lisa practices in the area of Family Health Law™, which includes providing advice in the areas of mental health law, guardianship law, privacy law, elder law, and other health law matters.

Prior to opening her own practice in 2013, Lisa was a lawyer at Canada’s largest health law firm providing advice to hospitals and other health care organizations. During that time she performed a secondment with The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Lisa provides advice to family members in their role as caregivers, attorneys, guardians, substitute decision-makers and advocates, and represents family members before the Consent and Capacity Board. She routinely assists clients to navigate challenging ethical situations involving consent, capacity and substitute decision-making.

Lisa frequently writes and presents about health law matters and has been widely published and interviewed in media outlets such as the National Post, Global News, CTV, Vanity Fair, Macleans Magazine and the CBC. She teaches Health Care Law as an Adjunct Professor at York University.

You can find Lisa on her website or on Instagram:
 
http:// www.familyhealthlaw.ca
 
https://www.instagram.com/lisafeldsteinlaw/

Visit us on our website:
  www.compassionincaregiving.com
 
For more visit our instagram! @compassionincaregiving

 *The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.*

In this episode, Wendy Williams discusses her 20+ year journey caring for her husband, who has severe rapid cycle type 1 bipolar disorder, while also providing care for her two adult children- one who requires total care and one with autism-and her mother. Wendy discusses how she has managed to develop an effective self-care routine and has established strong boundaries to maintain her overall mental health.

About Wendy:

Wendy is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and caregiver. In 2010 she founded Crazy Whisperer, a supportive community that focuses on effective management of mental health issues.She has a bipolar husband, an autistic daughter, a disabled son with a rare genetic defect, and an aging mother with complex medical needs. She is a caregiver to all four and resides in Houston, Texas. 

Find Wendy:

On instagram: @crazywhisperer

Visit us on our website:
  www.compassionincaregiving.com
 
For more visit our instagram! @compassionincaregiving

*The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.*

Most of us have heard about grief that is experienced when someone dies, but not much is discussed in terms of the grief that is experienced while someone is still alive. In this episode, Stephanie discusses the very normal realities of going through the cycles of grief ongoing as caregivers, particularly the grief we experience about a loved one with a progressive illness. Techniques to manage feelings of grief are also touched upon in this episode. 

Visit us on our website:
  www.compassionincaregiving.com
 
For more visit our instagram! @compassionincaregiving

*The content shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and it does not constitute therapy or counselling. If you are in need of mental health support or professional guidance, please reach out to a qualified healthcare provider or mental health professional. The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host.*