November is National Family Caregivers Month, and it’s a great opportunity to highlight the life-changing work our Aviv Older Adult Services (Aviv) team does — not only for older adults, but their caregivers, too.
One in four adults in the U.S. are caregivers in some capacity, a number that will continue to rise as our population ages. Caregivers provide around 31 hours of care per week — a staggering amount, especially considering that 60 percent of them are still working full-time jobs. The time and stress levels increase for the 11.5 million who care for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and other dementias: the high-intensity attention required with memory issues often results in increased rates of burnout, chronic stress, anxiety and depression for the caregiver.
Jessica Wilson, MSW, CDP, Geriatric Care Manager (GCM), is familiar with the struggles of caregivers. In her role as a GCM, Jessica works with older adults and their caregivers every day to coordinate care, connect to resources, and be a compassionate sounding board to all parties involved. She likens the help and support she gives families to putting together a puzzle.
“There are so many pieces to consider: multiple specialists, care homes, lawyers, adult children, physical therapists, and more,” said Jessica. “As GCM’s, we work with these people every day and know the intricacies, but for many caregivers it’s their first time caring for an older adult. It can all be very overwhelming, and my job is to fit the pieces together.”
One very important piece of the caregiving puzzle is connecting caregivers with one another for validation, support and camaraderie. “Most caregivers experience loneliness and isolation,” said Jessica, “and it’s so important is to find ways to support yourself with self-care and connection alongside others who are in the same boat.”
Jessica Wilson (seated, in stripes) along with the GCM team at a staff outing earlier this year.
Caring for Caregivers
Caregiver Support Groups, facilitated by Jessica and our other compassionate GCM’s, provide a confidential, safe space for caregivers to process their feelings and struggles, learn from one another, and embrace a community. Groups take place across Metro Atlanta and virtually, and are offered multiple days a week and times, to accommodate as many schedules as possible.
“Caregivers have so much responsibility on their plates that caring for themselves often goes to the very bottom of the list,” said Jessica, “but it’s so very important. The peer-to-peer support that happens in a group is very impactful — as a GCM, I give my recommendations and suggest helpful solutions, but if a caregiver hears the exact same recommendation from someone who has lived experience, it really makes an impact.”
“I see my role leading the group as facilitating conversations and getting people to share and open up with one another,” Jessica continues. “Once that starts happening, I take notes and learn, because the caregivers really are experts.”
Group discussion can include anything from sharing personal experiences with different care homes and resources in the community, to coming up with clever solutions to common problems, to emotional support. Since it can be difficult to come to a group every week, Jessica keeps the group updated with emails after the meetings, where she shares any resources and tips that were mentioned. Group participants often share with Jessica how grateful they are for the updates that give them that sense of connection. Often, participants build rapport and develop friendships outside of the group time.
Jessica recounts a story of a woman in a recent group who is a caregiver to a husband with Parkinson’s. She mentioned in her group that she had recently gotten COVID for the first time after a trip moving her daughter away to college. The trip had been stressful for her, trying to help her daughter while coordinating care for her husband from afar. As she was telling her story, she realized she had been running herself ragged and needed to slow down for her health. Group members validated her experience and helped her think through how she might do it differently next time. “Sometimes, it takes outside feedback and witness to make a change,” said Jessica.
“Ultimately, I see the GCM service as synthesizing the information, giving it to the people who need it, and connecting them with helping hands along the way,” said Jessica. “It feels like I’m a tour guide on a trip no one wanted to take, but here we are — how can we make it as good as possible?”
If you are interested in our Caregiver Support Groups or any other JF&CS Older Adult Services, contact AgeWell Atlanta at 1.866.AGEWELL