Today, my guest is Amy Fuchs, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Aging Life Care Professional with over 15 years of experience supporting families through the complexities of caregiving for aging loved ones.

As the founder of The Elder Expert, Amy combines her compassion, empathy, and expertise to provide personalized care and guidance for older adults and their families.

In today’s episode, we’ll discuss a challenging and all too familiar struggle: denial in caregiving. Whether it’s denial from our care partners, our siblings, or even from ourselves, it’s an obstacle many caregivers face. Amy shares practical strategies and insights to empower, cope, and manage it all.

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The Elder Expert

Daughterhood

My guest today is Dr Mary Frances O’Connor, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona, Director of Clinical Training and a grief researcher. Dr O’Connor shared such great insights the first time she was on the podcast, I’m so glad she’s back to discuss her new book The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing.

Today we discuss the physical nature of grief, the physiological response of your body and how grief affects every system, We talk about our immune system, brain fog, ways to cope with grief, how to rebuild after loss and so much more.

TRANSCRIPT OF THIS EPISODE

MaryFrancesOconnor.org

Daughterhood

In these BONUS episodes of Daughterhood the Podcast, Daughterhood Founder Anne Tumlinson joins Rosanne to bring the caregiving conversation to a different level as we’re joined by change leaders and policy experts.

Today we speak with Howard Gleckman, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, where he is affiliated with the Tax Policy Center and the Retirement Policy Program. He speaks and writes frequently on aging and caregiving, as well as on tax policy. Howard is the author of Caring for Our Parents: Inspiring Stories of Families Seeking New Solutions to America’s Most Urgent Health Care Crisis, as well as two blogs—TaxVox and Caring for Our Parents which you can find on Forbes.com. In 2016, I was a named one of the nation’s top 50 Influencers in Aging by Next Avenue.

Today, we discuss the recent changes in Washington regarding potential cuts to Medicaid, changes to Medicare, drug production, The Older Americans act, the ACA and much more.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

HowardGleckman.com

Daughterhood

Jerri McElroy is a full time in home dementia family caregiver and a Caring Across Generations Fellow. She is passionate about care advocacy and created first care for me to encourage family caregivers to prioritize self preservation for their own health and well being. Jerry is a published author, artist, minister, and also a Daughterhood circle leader. Aisha Adkins is an Atlanta based family caregiver, founder, writer, thought leader, speaker and organizer, who is passionate about building an equitable, inclusive and comprehensive public health and care infrastructure using media, storytelling, culture and policy change. She is committed to making an impact across the country for unpaid caregivers of color through her new venture, Caregivers of Color Collective.

In this episode, we dive deep into the challenges faced by marginalized caregivers, sharing powerful insights into their experiences within the healthcare system and family dynamics. We also tackle critical issues like generational trauma, the vital role of allyship and much more.

TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE

Jerri McElroy’s - Facebook Group - A Life for a Life: A Caregiver’s Journey  https://www.facebook.com/groups/303568590482029/?ref=share&mibextid=NSMWBT

Aisha Adkins - https://aishaadkins.com/

Daughterhood

Boundaries. We know they are important in everyday life and even more crucial in caregiving. But how do we establish them?

My guest today is Loren Gelberg-Goff, psychotherapist, author and speaker, who has become best known for creating the powerful, life-changing program for caregivers: “Take Back Your Life”.

Loren and I explore the crucial topic of boundaries in caregiving. In this conversation we discuss how to create and maintain boundaries, how to feel good about yourself while practicing them, how to deal with others when you find your boundaries and much more.

TRANSCRIPT OF EPISODE

Daughterhood

LorenGelbergGoff.com

David Kessler is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief and loss. and his insights are invaluable. He is the author of six books, including his latest bestseller, Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief. David also coauthored On Grief and Grieving with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross which updated her five stages of grief to include the grieving process. 

David’s journey into grief and trauma work began after witnessing a mass shooting as a child while his mother was dying. He has since taught professionals in various fields, including healthcare and law enforcement, about the end of life, trauma and grief.

In this compelling discussion, Rosanne and David delve into the unique struggles caregivers face in their grief journey. They address the importance of allowing ourselves to process these emotions, the impact our personal grief narratives have on our lives, and the vital steps towards rediscovering our true selves amid loss. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to navigate grief and emerge stronger.

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David Kessler - Grief.com

DAUGHTERHOOD

In 2016, Kitty Norton left her job as an NBC assistant editor in Los Angeles, CA for her hometown of Portland, OR to care for her mother living with dementia. 

While caring, she authored the dementia caregiver blog Stumped Town Dementia, writing tales of dementia life, not dementia death, which resonated deeply with readers around the world. 

After her mother’s death in 2021, Kitty took to the road in an RV to produce and direct her cross-country documentary film Wine, Women, and Dementia 

This film honors the journey with her mother, as well as spreads awareness of the caregiver side of the equation in dementia, and celebrates family caregivers - to let them know they are not alone and that they are worthy of being seen, heard, and celebrated alongside who they are caring for on this difficult road to the end of life.

In this episode we discuss common tropes and platitudes most often heard in dementia, the reality behind them, and how Kitty’s caregiving journey led her to create her film.

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Daughterhood.org

Cheryl Phillips, M.D., AGSF, is the immediate past president and CEO of the Special Needs Plan Alliance, and currently a Senior Program Consultant with the John A Hartford Foundation. She has extensive experience in health policy, Medicare Advantage and the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). As a fellowship-trained geriatrician, her clinical practice focused on the continuum.

She served as a primary care health policy fellow under Secretary Tommy Thompson and currently chairs The SCAN Foundation Board of Directors and serves as a director on the SCAN Health Plan and Group Boards.

Today, we discuss the 4 M’s that will help you prepare for each appointment, the burden of being the connector and care coordinator with specialists, dealing with assumptions and expectations, the dangers of anesthesia and falls, and much more. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

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Daughterhood.org

Mental health is crucial for overall well-being at every stage of life. It encompasses our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing our thoughts, feelings, actions, stress management, relationships, and decision-making. Supporting your mental health is especially important during caregiving. 

In this episode, we discuss the difference between depression and malaise, how to spot depression in our cells and our care partners, and practical strategies and resources to support our mental health on a daily basis. I hope you enjoy our conversation.

TRANSCRIPT AND RESOURCES

Daughterhood.org

When Alzheimer’s dementia arrived without warning, Dr. Sheri L. Yarbrough (Praxis Senior Care-Giving Solutions)used her ability to view a circumstance from multiple perspectives to understand what her mother was experiencing. That became the genesis for her care management strategy, the Praxis for Care. Living the Praxis for Care helped create her motto: care-giving is what you do for your loved one; giving-care is what you do for both of you.

In this episode, Dr. Yarbrough and I discuss a range of topics, including identifying your need for support and the specific type of support you require as a caregiver. We also talked about focusing on what remains rather than what is lost, allowing relationships to evolve through your dementia journey, and the important difference between caregiving and giving care.

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Praxis for Care

Daughterhood.org