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Helping Caregivers Understand the Challenges of End-of-Life Decision Making for Those with Mental Retardation
Birth is a beginning and death a destination. Those of us who are considered to have capacity to make decisions for ourselves are nevertheless often unprepared as we face the end-of-life. We live in a death denying culture, which frequently prevents many of us from considering our options when we...
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Me First? A Personal Account of Self Care
When flight attendants give their safety talk at the beginning of each flight- where everyone listens to their iPod or begins to read a magazine- they state: “If there is a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will fall from above. If you are traveling with a child or someone who needs your...
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Caring for The Caregiver: Becoming Fearless During Illness and Loss
When illness comes, the entire family network starts hurting. Everyone in it becomes sensitized and in need of greater attention and care. Rivalries may begin to develop with family members jockeying for control. A great deal of fear and anxiety can get stirred up. Sometimes an individual becomes...
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Peer-Led Support Helps Parents and Caregivers Cope with Mental Illness
When her teenage daughter was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Deniece Chi did not know where to turn for help. A native of Belize residing in New York City, she had no experience with or understanding of mental illness. Her relatives dismissed the diagnosis and suggested that a lack of discipline...
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The Care Manager as Storyteller and Coach: Giving Voice to the Caregiver’s Reality and Opening Doors
Imagine being so consumed with the work of caregiving that an eviction notice doesn’t scare you. This true story reminds us of how dangerous it is for caregivers to feel disempowered and how powerful storytelling can change the lives of caregivers in crisis. Janice was diagnosed with neck...
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The Challenge of Caregiving: A Personal Story
Parents, spouses and other caregivers of individuals with illnesses and disabilities do not have special gifts. We are very average people who tap into our superhuman strengths that everyone has, but don’t always need to draw on. Twenty-five years ago this Fall my life changed forever. My son,...
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Addressing the Needs of Caregivers
Our society relies on families to provide care for disabled family members. They provide 80% of such care, and the financial value of their work is close to $400 billion per year. If families did not provide this care, it would add 15 to 20% to the costs of health care in the United States. I...
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Being Your Own Caregiver When There Is Nobody Else
This issue of Mental Health News examines the topic “Addressing the Needs of Caregivers.” The response to our theme was very enthusiastic with many people indicating how happy they were that we were examining this import and timely subject. Throughout the many wonderful articles in this issue...
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Caregivers Plan for the Future with Federation of Organizations’ Financial Management Program
What will happen when I am not around? How can I protect the future of my loved one? These are some of the questions that caregivers ask themselves as they search for reassuring answers. After years of work helping families to prepare for the future of their loved ones, there is one point we cannot...
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Guardianships for Incapacitated Persons and The Limitations on a Guardian’s Ability to Consent to or Refuse Psychiatric Treatment
Many times, people lose the capacity to make personal and financial decisions on their own behalf. Often times this occurs as a result of declining mental faculties, such as when the person reaches an advanced age, suffers from mental illness, or experiences traumatic or unexpected injury....
