The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers Looking After Yourself and Your Family While Helping an Aging Parent

by Jacobs, Barry J.

• ISBN13: 9781572307292
• ISBN10: 1572307293
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-17
• Publisher: The Guilford Press

Summary

Caring for a parent whose health is in decline turns the world upside down. The emotional fallout can be devastating, but it doesn't have to be that way. Empathic guidance from an expert who's been there can help. Through an account of two sisters and their ailing mother--interwoven with no-nonsense advice--The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers helps family members navigate tough decisions and make the most of their time together as they care for an aging parent. The author urges readers to be honest about the level of commitment they're able to make and emphasizes the need for clear communication within the family. While acknowledging their guilt, stress, and fatigue, he helps caregivers reaffirm emotional connections worn thin by the routine of daily care. This compassionate book will help families everywhere avoid burnout and preserve bonds during one of life's most difficult passages.

Author Biography

Barry Jacobs, PsyD, works with couples and families coping with serious health problems. He has faculty appointments at Temple University, the University Of Pennsylvania, and Widener University, and is the Director of Behavioral Sciences for the Crozer-Keystone Family Medicine Residency Program in Springfield, PA. He is also a widely published journalist who has written extensively for The Village Voice and other publications. Currently, he pens an advice column for Take Care!, the quarterly newsletter of the National Family Caregivers Association, and edits the “In Sickness & Health” column for the journal Families, Systems & Health. He lives with his wife and their two children in Swarthmore, PA.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	viii
Prologue	1	(8)
1. First Days	9	(20)
2. Defining Commitments	29	(26)
3. Utilizing Support	55	(24)
4. Handling Sacrifice	79	(26)
5. Weighing Hope and Acceptance, Fantasy and Reality	105	(22)
6. Fostering Awareness and Flexibility	127	(25)
7. Protecting Intimacy	152	(24)
8. Sustaining the Spirit	176	(23)
9. Last Days	199	(34)
Epilogue: Caregiving's Aftermath	233	(10)
Resources	243	(14)
Index	257