The INTENSIVE Caregiver: Caring for a Spouse, Working as a Professor and Parenting a Young Child - With Brian Smith (Episode 04)

There were so many incredible episodes this season and today Stephanie recaps the most listened to episodes of season 3. 

This entire season we have also highlighted quotes from our guests and these will be  available on one beautiful free PDF the week of January 8th! To download all of these that you can print or keep with you, visit our website (www.compassionincaregiving.com), enter your information into the pop-up on the website for the PDF download and that's it! 

If you have any suggestions for what you want to hear next season, email us at stephanie@compassionincaregiving.com ! We would love to hear from you.

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1 in 4 in Canada are presently caregivers and this number is expected to increase to 1 in 2 in the coming years. Yet our healthcare system is not equipped to support the family caregiver or the private caregiver in a way that prevents collapse. A national healthcare strategy is needed. Enter the CCCE, spearheaded by director Liv Mendelsohn, this organization works to educate, advocate and change policy to improve all areas of care across Canada. In today’s episode, Liv details the history of the CCCE and how they are working to change the caregiver narrative as we move forward. 

About Liv:

Liv Mendelsohn, MA, MEd, is the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence where she leads innovation, research, policy and program initiatives to support Canada’s caregivers and care providers.

Liv has a been a lifelong caregiver and has lived experience of disability. Her experiences as a member of the ‘sandwich generation’ fuel her passion to build a caregiver movement in Canada to change the way that caregiving is seen, valued, and supported.

Over the course of her career, Liv has founded and helmed several organizations in the disability and caregiving space, including the Wagner Green Centre for Accessibility and Inclusion and the ReelAbilities Toronto Film Festival.

Liv serves as the chair of the City of Toronto Accessibility Advisory Committee. She has received the City of Toronto Equity Award, and has been recognized by University College, University of Toronto and the Jewish Community Centres of North America for her leadership. Liv is a senior fellow at Massey College and a graduate of the Mandel Institute for Non-Profit Leadership and the Civic Action Leadership Foundation Diversity Fellowship program.

Liv lives in Toronto with her husband and two boys.

Find Liv Mendelsohn and the CCCE (Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence: https://canadiancaregiving.org/

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In today’s episode, the incredible Rev Katie Norris talks about her experiences caring for her mom with dementia with her son Jeffrey, and how this shaped her passion for entering a career in caregiving support. Katie discusses the very unique Montessori approach to dementia care and her successful membership and coaching program for caregivers.

About Katie:

Rev. Katie is an AMI Montessori for Aging and Dementia Practitioner and primary author of "Creative Connections in Dementia Care®." She started in dementia care 14 years ago and has taught families, churches, nursing care facilities, and other AMI students Montessori based care. Post-pandemic, she took her work online, and now she, with her son Jeffrey (who was a child care partner for his grandmother), coach families and hired care partners in trauma-informed Montessori based dementia care through their online dementia care membership, the Care Partners House™. She was a live-in care partner for her mother who had Lewy Body Dementia and is now a long-distance care partner for her dad who has Alzheimer's Disease. 

Find Rev Katie Norris and her son Jeffrey on Instagram: @creativeconnectionsdementia 

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In this episode, Rosanne Corcoran, podcast host, speaker and previous caregiver of her mom with dementia, details her journey in the sandwich caregiver role, caring for her mom and children for 12 years. She specifically talks about her siblings who did not actively step forward to care for her mom during a time when she was an intensive and primary caregiver. 

About Rosanne: 

Rosanne Corcoran’s journey into caregiving began with a dementia

diagnosis of her fiercely independent mother, opening the door to a 12-year

journey in sandwich caregiving. After experiencing first-hand the stress and

isolation caregiving brings along with the lack of meaningful resources for

caregivers, Rosanne created Daughterhood the Podcast. As host of the

podcast, touching the lives of thousands of caregivers, Rosanne brings her

authentic voice to each conversation and discusses challenges caregivers

face with experts in all fields.

Rosanne is a sought-after speaker and author who has been featured in

publications including CNN Health, Barron’s and Next Avenue. She has also

received Caregiving.com’s Visionary Award in 2021. In addition to leading a

monthly Daughterhood Connection Circle, as the Director of Content and

Strategy for Daughterhood, Rosanne oversees ensuring that Daughterhood’s

content is well organized, easily understood, and practical.

Find Rosanne: http://www.daughterhoodthepodcast.com 

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Although I truly do not think that anything I am doing is ‘more busy’ than the next person (especially if you are a caregiver!), I am sometimes asked what my personal care routine is and how I balance and wear so many hats. So here you go for something a little different! And you will see very quickly that I am anything but perfect in this. Enjoy!

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This topic hits hard. Being a caregiver can already be so isolating and difficult and as caregivers, we rely on others to come forward, show up, and support us when we need it the most. In this episode, Stephanie talks about what we can do when people we have been connected to stop showing up for us and our loved ones and explores possible options for navigating this very difficult aspect of caregiving. 

Today's episode is sponsored by Compassionate Callers. To learn more about their services, visit their website at https://www.compassionatecallers.com/ !

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In this episode, Dr. Naomi Saperia opens up about her experience caring for her daughter with a life limiting illness from birth to age 5, at a time when she was also working as a psychologist in the healthcare system herself. Naomi is vulnerable and personable in this very special episode. 

About Naomi:

Dr. Naomi Gryfe Saperia is a Clinical and Health Psychologist in Ontario. With experience working in hospitals and private practice, her clinical practice focuses on supporting the mental health and well-being of those caring for a loved one with an illness or disability. Dr. Gryfe Saperia is published in numerous medical and psychological journals, has been featured on provincial and national platforms, teaches medical professionals how to effectively communicate with families, and is an advisor on multiple hospital committees. Incorporating her professional expertise with her lived experience as a caregiver herself, Dr. Gryfe Saperia is a passionate advocate for caregiver support. To learn more about Dr. Gryfe Saperia, you can visit her website at www.gryfesaperiapsych.com

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In today’s episode, Kelly Polci, registered social worker and psychotherapist, shares her personal experiences with mom guilt parenting her 3 children, balancing a hospital job and a private therapy practice. The different techniques and resources she employs with her clients facing deep parenting and caregiving guilt are also explored. 

Find Kelly on Psychology today at: Kelly Polci psychotherapy 

Website resource mentioned in this episode: https://expectful.com

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In today’s episode, Stephanie explores 3 common cases she has seen as an inpatient social worker in the hospital system and looks at how these scenarios end up directly impacting the mental health and capacity of family caregivers and those they care for. Suggestions for systems change and advocacy are noted throughout the episode. 

If you have ever been a caregiver of a loved one in the hospital system and have felt more overwhelmed as a result, this episode is for you. 

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While caring for a loved one with dementia, do you ever feel as though you wish you had more answers for the future? That you wish you knew what to expect over time? That you had more control over your situation?

In this episode, Stephanie talks about common feelings when it comes to dementia caregivers, the difficulty in knowing what the future may hold and alternative ways you can think about this process while validating the very real frustration, anger and anxiety in this moment. 

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