For many, caring for a chronically ill family member is “the right thing to do”, but it is also often a source of emotional hardship, physical stress, and social isolation. In response, skill-building, coping, and psychoeducational programs have emerged to help caregivers meet the changes and challenges in their – as well as the patients’ – lives. Education and Support Programs for Caregivers reveals the diversity of the caregiver population as well as their experiences and needs, and it introduces an empirically solid framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating caregiver programs. The book synthesizes current trends, exploring the effectiveness of different types of programs (e.g., clinic, community, home based) and groups (e.g., peer, professional, self-help), and how supportive programs lead to improved care. Coverage includes: Improving service delivery of education and support programs to underserved caregivers. Cultural, ethnic, and gender issues in conducting caregiver education and support groups. Utilization patterns (e.g., a key to understanding service needs). E-health, telehealth, and other technological developments in caregiver services. Evaluating the effectiveness and sustainability of programs. Recommendations for future practice, training, policy, and advocacy. Education and Support Programs for Caregivers offers a wealth of insights and ideas for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students across the caregiving fields, including psychology, social work, public health, geriatrics and gerontology, and medicine as well as public and education policy makers.

Research has consistently shown that there is a link between caregiver substance use and child maltreatment, but less attention has been given to child trauma exposure. The co-occurrence of caregiver substance misuse and child trauma exposure is a prevailing problem that has confounded social work prevention, protection, and treatment efforts with both children and adults for years. However, there has been minimal empirical and clinical literature focusing on child trauma as an outcome of caregiver substance use. This work is designed to be the catalyst for sustained intellectual inquiry about how caregiver substance use, child maltreatment, and violence exposure can be understood in theory and practice. To this end, the research presented in this book highlights the state of the science, the impact of the phenomenon, and the policy and practice questions that must be addressed. Implications for social work practice are highlighted in order to attenuate these deleterious and pervasive problems in the future. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions.

Explore new frontiers in Alzheimer's support systems! When Congress authorized the Alzheimer's Disease Demonstration Grants to States program in 1990, no one knew how effective the program would prove to be. A New Look at Community-Based Respite Programs provides you with results of the first major evaluation of ADDGS programs. Across the country, groups were able to develop specialized programs that reached traditionally underserved clients. A byproduct of many of the ADDGS programs was that they helped strengthen ties between communities and agencies, improving social services for both caregivers and people with Alzheimer's. A New Look at Community-Based Respite Programs examines: the profile of the average respite care user different challenges faced by urban and rural clientele how culture and ethnicity influence health care decisions ways to involve communities in respite care how understanding patterns of use makes for better program design and implementation A New Look at Community-Based Respite Programs provides you with detailed analyses of a variety of successful support service plans, including mobile day care, Latino-specific outreach, traveling dementia evaluation teams, and programs designed for people who live alone. You'll also read about the importance of complementing family caregivers instead of substituting for them. Throughout, helpful tables make the results of ADDGS programs clear. It is estimated that Alzheimer's will affect up to 14 million Americans by the year 2050. A New Look at Community-Based Respite Programs contains vital knowledge that you can act on now to help lay the foundations for a better future.

Identifies and describes specific government assistance opportunities such as loans, grants, counseling, and procurement contracts available under many agencies and programs.

Learn how family caregivers of people with dementia can be supported by psychotherapy Provides step-by-step guidance for face-to-face or remote therapy Illustrated with therapeutic dialogs from real cases Includes downloadable intervention handouts This handbook addresses the extremely challenging situation that family caregivers of people with dementia face and is informed by the use of evidence-based psychotherapeutic strategies to support them. The book guides readers step-by step through effective therapeutic strategies, mainly based on cognitive-behavioral therapy, and illustrated with excerpts of dialogs between therapists and family caregivers from real sessions. Different modules address topics such as dealing with challenging behavior, self-care, perfectionism and guilt, as well as changes in the relationship with the ill person, barriers to seeking social and professional support, stress management and emotion regulation, accepting one's own limits, and dealing with institutionalization. These modules can be put together to meet different individuals' needs. Particular emphasis is placed on creating a positive therapeutic alliance, resource activation, and helping caregivers develop the motivation for change. Finally, multiple handouts that can be used in clinical practice are available for download. The intervention is suitable for various settings, including face-to-face therapy or remote forms such as telephone or online therapy. This manual is ideal for clinical psychologists, gerontologists, psychotherapists, social workers, and counsellors working with people with dementia and their families.