Janice Walton, Ph.D.

Your Partner in Caretaking

Email Coaching for Caregivers

I'm so excited that you are interested in the Email Coaching for Caregivers program. Let me tell you more.

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Aging well while caring for another is challenging - there is no doubt. However, you can take action to improve the odds of doing so. Let me ask you this.

  • Has the role of caregiving become a burden and a drain?
  • Have you ever felt as if life were not worth living?
  • Are you looking for ways to make the job less stressful?
  • Do you have physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and practical tools for helping yourself as you care for another person?

Here's How I Can Help

I offer email support where you write to me with questions and concerns, and I will respond with answers, solutions, ideas, and suggestions within 24-48 hours. We can cover topics like:

  • How to schedule time for yourself
  • How to find other support
  • Tools, techniques, and tricks
  • Practical issues
  • Discovering what pleases you

I find that most approaches fall into plans for taking care of your loved one or plans to take care of yourself. See below for the kind of issues those often include.

Example: Plan to Take Care of Your Loved One

Your 67-year-old long-time partner has been diagnosed with early-stage dementia. We can discuss the following types of issues.

  • Available treatment options and the path of the disease
  • Appropriate legal paperwork while both of you can participate
  • Passwords, automatic pay accounts, and insurance policies of joint accounts
  • Discussing the diagnosis
  • The pros and cons of getting a second opinion
  • Facilities and support services you may need
  • A bucket list of things the two of you want to do while you can
  • The financial situation and if you need to make changes
  • Ways to remain engaged in life
  • The role you want to play and ways to support each other
  • The whys, pros, and cons of prescribed medications, keeping a current list of them, and fostering a relationship with the doctors
  • Balancing your sense of issues versus what the experts say

 

For Example: Identifying Self-Care Strategies

You’ve cared for a loved one for two years and are worn out. We can talk about the following types of issues.

  • What you have in place - what’s working and what’s not
  • The situation and identify possible solutions
  • Self-care resources
  • Setting boundaries
  • The need for outside help
  • A plan and schedule for self-care
  • Where you are stuck, and why
  • What the most troublesome part is for you

The Program

  • Strictly email based
  • Designed for an average of four email exchanges a month with substantive responses
  • Turnaround time for a response to your email is 24-48 hours.
  • Involves a recurring $10/month subscription, which you can cancel at any time

How to Enroll

  • Click the button below to initiate the process by filling out a short introduction to yourself. I will review these and respond within 24 hours.
  • If it seems like a good fit, I will email the link to register and pay.
  • Once you have signed up, we can begin the email exchange right away.
Click Here to Get Started

About Me

You may know that I’m 84 years old - or young - and I’ve been a psychologist for 20 years.

My life changed dramatically when my husband of 60 years had surgery. Dementia, which may have been hiding for years, raised its ugly head.

I was resistant, ill-prepared, and overwhelmed. But Dan was the love of my life. How could I not be there for him? My caregiving role ended when he died from COVID in a memory care facility. To figure it out, I wrote the book Aging Well- 30 For Making The Most of Your Later Years.

After his death and as a way to heal, I began writing a weekly newsletter, Aging Well News, which now has over 750 subscribers. Recently, I added a second article devoted to caregivers wishing to age well. Email coaching is another option.

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Guidelines

  • While I'm a psychologist, this is not about counseling.
  • I'm not a medical doctor or lawyer, so I will refer you to your physician or legal person if you ask about those issues.
  • If I don't feel it's a good fit, I have the right to terminate the coaching.
  • Sessions focus on finding possible solutions for caregiving situations, behaviors, and emotions - yours and theirs. So, no therapy or venting, although both can be very useful for a caregiver.
  • Come with an open mind

References for Counseling