Powerful Tools For Caregivers
The ProgramsEducation
A self-care educational program designed for 6-10 caregivers.
Communication
Learn how to communicate their feelings, needs and concerns.
Stress Management
Steps are presented for effective stress management.
Taking Care of You
Emphasizes that the focus in on ‘YOU”.
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR CAREGIVERS
“Learn How To Take Care Of YOU”
The Powerful Tools for Caregivers program is listed among the highest-level evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion programs, having undergone the Administration for Community Living Administration on Aging’s Older Americans Act Title IIID program submission process.
A basic premise of Powerful Tools for Caregivers is that caregivers generally believe they are doing everything they can to provide good care for their chronically ill or disabled loved ones but are not doing enough to care for themselves. Lack of attention to their own needs often results in poor outcomes for caregivers. Thus, the program focus is not on care recipients’ disease or disability; it is on enabling caregivers to improve their self-care with a set of ‘tools.’ The focus in on enhancing caregivers’ well-being and coping abilities, with the key message throughout While a caregiver – Thrive, not just survive!
The Program
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
- A self-care educational program designed for 6-10 caregivers per session improves self-care behaviors, manages emotions, develops self-efficacy, and uses community resources.
- Scripted curriculum, developed by Stanford University researchers, is used to provide ‘tools’ that can individualize to meet caregiving challenges in a supportive and interactive environment.
- Session material is delivered by co-leaders during six consecutive weeks, one day a week for 2 ½ hours or 90 minutes.
SESSION MATERIAL:
- A group format allows for a sense of belonging, offers experiences to be validated and affirmed, and provides interpersonal learning opportunities from multiple sources.
- In the six classes, caregivers develop a wealth of self-care tools that help them reduce personal stress, change negative self-talk, communicate their needs, recognize and manage difficult feelings, and make tough caregiving decisions.
- The following Class Description provides a synopsis of the six classes.
- Caregivers are encouraged between classes to implement personalized “Action Plans” designed to help them carry out self-care initiatives such as exercise and relaxation activities.
PROGRAM DELIVERED BY:
- Trained and certified co-leaders facilitate the process of learning and personal change in caregivers through didactic lessons, modeling, cognitive restructuring, brainstorming, and other interactive experiences.
- Class Leaders are discouraged from being perceived as ‘experts’ and participate in many learning activities themselves.
PROGRAM OUTCOMES:
Post-evaluations will be completed by caregivers participating in Powerful Tools for Caregivers sessions. Of those completing at least five classes of a session, 90% will indicate:
- An improvement in self-care behaviors, including exercise and use of relaxation techniques
- An increase in ability to manage difficult emotions, including reduced anger, guilt, and depression, and learn to communicate feelings better
- An increase in self-efficacy in coping with caregiving demands
- A reduction in personal stress
- An improvement in self-confidence
- An increase in knowledge of community resources and services
POWERFUL TOOLS FOR CAREGIVERS
– CLASS DESCRIPTION SYNOPSIS
Class #1: Taking Care of You
This class sets the stage for the entire course. It emphasizes that the focus in on ‘YOU, the caregiver, not the individual 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: Identifying and Reducing Personal Stress
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: Communicating Feelings, Needs, and Concerns
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). The practice changing ‘You’ messages to ‘I’ messages, and identifying when statements beginning with the word ‘I’ are actually ‘Hidden You’ messages.
Class #4: Communicating in Challenging Situations
Participants practice two communication tools – assertiveness and Akido – 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 Akido, participants learn how to align and find ‘common ground’ with a person who is distressed. A segment highlights guideline for communicating with a person who is memory impaired.
Class #5: Learning from Our Emotions
The overwhelming 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 or bad. Focus is on identifying constructive ways for dealing with difficult feelings – especially anger, guilt, and depression – and resources for professional help.
Class #6: Mastering Caregiving Decisions
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.