The Area Agency on Aging of the Capital Area (AAACAP), a CAPCOG division, conducted two caregiver webinars about family members supporting each other while caring for their loved ones. A recording of one of the webinars is now available at capcog.org for families who could not attend.
“Caregiving and family dynamics can both be complex, and when you add them together stressors may mount even more,” said Shirley Trapani, AAACAP assistant director. “Through these webinars, we wanted to bring family caregivers new strategies about how to come to equitable decisions while developing an understanding that the needs of each caregiver may vary in the process.” The webinars were facilitated by clinical psychologist, family therapist and family caregiver advocate, Dr. Barry Jacobs who covered topics such as developing consensus among siblings, divvying up caregiving responsibilities fairly, and fostering trust. More than 50 people attended the two sessions, but AAACAP hopes other families can continue to learn from them by watching them online.
The webinars were made possible through funds from Changing the Care Conversation Grant from Funders at Grantmakers in Aging that was initially awarded to CAPCOG through the St. Davids Foundation on behalf of the Aging Services Council to work in conjunction with AAACAP to perform caregiver outreach for strengthening community caregiver support.