Families Caring for Aging Parents
Whether you’re an individual seeking guidance on caring for a loved one, or a family trying to get on the same page, caring for an aging parent with a new or challenging diagnosis — or planning ahead for your own future needs — each step matters, and you deserve support as you move forward.
I can coach you individually on topics like how to advocate for your loved one during doctor’s visits, how to create a supportive living environment, how to navigate the ethical, legal, and insurance challenges of care, and how to enlist the help of family, friends, or other helping professionals. Or, if your family needs a space to align on a plan together, I can facilitate that conversation directly.
Topics We Can Address Together:
As a former medical social worker with more than 20 years of experience in home care, palliative care, hospice, and gerontology, I can help facilitate these conversations and guide you toward the resources that will help you and your family move forward.
- Sorting out emotions related to a new diagnosis or changing care needs
- How to advocate for your loved one during doctor's visits and medical appointments
- Understanding how and when to discuss supportive care or treatment options
- Reviewing advance care planning, and why a living will and other documents are recommended
- Creating a supportive living environment for a loved one with dementia or another life-changing diagnosis
- Defining care roles among multiple family members, and how to set expectations
- Exploring short- and long-term care options, including cost
- Learning about different kinds of housing, from in-home support to assisted living and continuing care communities
- Navigating the ethical, legal, and insurance challenges of care
- Understanding when to apply for benefits, or speak with an elder law attorney or financial planner
- Navigating conversations about memory loss, dementia, or Alzheimer's with a parent and other family members
FAQs
Due to conflict of interest, I cannot serve as a consultant for a family if I am already a therapist for someone in that family. I’m happy to provide referrals.
My child was just diagnosed with autism or a disability. Do I really need therapy, or should I just focus on getting them the right services?
Both matter. Getting your child the right support is essential, but so is having your own space to process what this means for you and your family. Many parents don’t realize how much they’re carrying until they finally have somewhere to put it down.
I feel guilty even considering therapy when my child or loved one is the one struggling.
This is one of the most common things I hear, and it’s understandable. But you can’t pour from an empty cup. Taking care of your own wellbeing isn’t taking anything away from your loved one, it’s what allows you to keep showing up for them.
Is this only for parents of young children, or do you work with families navigating disability at any age?
I work with families across the full lifespan, from parents of newly diagnosed children to adults supporting aging parents or adult children with disabilities. Every stage brings its own weight, and I meet you where you are.
My family looks fine from the outside. Is therapy still worth it if we're "managing okay"?
Managing and thriving aren’t the same thing. A lot of families I work with look put together on the outside while quietly exhausted on the inside. Therapy isn’t just for crisis, it’s for making sure you’re not just surviving your circumstances, but actually living within them.
Do you work with the whole family, or just the parent/caregiver?
Most of my work is individual, focused on the parent or caregiver carrying the emotional weight of the family’s situation. That said, I’m happy to talk through what structure makes the most sense for your specific situation during our free consultation.