REGISTER FOR THE CLASS HERE
You can also register by contacting Anne Shoup at 208-947-4281 or ashoup@jannus.org
Powerful Tools for Caregivers is an evidence based series of six workshops that equip family caregivers with techniques to help them face challenges that arise from their situation. We work closely with our caregivers to navigate through feelings like guilt, frustration, anger, and resentment. Caregivers will also learn how to ask for support and help, how to practice self-care, how to make difficult decisions, and how to avoid caregiver burnout! This class series is not a support group, however it creates a supportive network of fellow caregivers. Benefits for caregivers are based on participation in the full 6-week series.
CLASS DESCRIPTION
CLASS 1 – This class sets the stage for the entire course. It emphasizes that the focus is on “YOU, the caregiver, not on the family member receiving care,” and that caregivers will develop a “box of self-care tools.” The challenges of caregiving and significance of caregiver self-care are dramatized through a video. Beginning in this class, caregivers make a weekly action plan for self-care.
CLASS 2 – Four steps are presented for effective stress management: (1) Identifying early warning signs, (2) Identifying personal sources of stress, (3) Changing what you can change and accepting what you cannot change, and (4) Taking action. Tools to reduce stress are discussed. Participants learn how to change negative self-talk – which increases stress and erodes confidence – to positive self-talk. Beginning in this class, caregivers learn five relaxation activities that are easy to incorporate into their daily lives.
CLASS 3 – Participants learn how to communicate their feelings, needs and concerns more effectively by using “I” messages. Through brief dramatizations, participants experience the impact of both “I” messages and “You” messages (which tend to sound blaming and put people on the defensive). They practice changing “You” messages to “I” messages, and identifying when statements beginning with the word “I” are actually “Hidden You” messages.
CLASS 4 – Participants practice two communication tools – assertiveness and Aikido – which are helpful in difficult situations. They learn a four-step process, called DESC (Describe, Express, Specify, and Consequence) for using the assertive style of communication. With Aikido, participants learn how to align and find “common ground” with a person who is distressed. A segment highlights guidelines for communicating with a person who is memory impaired.
CLASS 5 – The overriding theme of this class is “our emotions are messages we need to listen to.” It emphasizes that feelings occur for a reason and that feelings are neither good nor bad. Focus is on identifying constructive ways for dealing with difficult feelings – especially anger, guilt, and depression – and resources for professional help.
CLASS 6 – Focus is on the internal emotional process caregivers go through when they experience a life change. Tools for dealing with changes and for making tough decisions – including a seven-step decision-making model and the family meeting – are discussed.
