head-down
Many of you are probably familiar with Dr. Gary Chapman’s timeless bestseller, “The 5 Love Languages”.  Originally published in 1992 and updated many times since, Dr. Chapman’s premise is that couples who understand each other’s “love language” have a distinct advantage because they are able to effectively communicate with the people with whom they are...
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Overwhelmed.  It is the most common word that I hear within the first sentence of nearly every telephone call that I receive from a prospective client.  It is a loaded word – one filled with feeling, with emotion.  When used in the context of talking with me, the word takes on a negative meaning, as...
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As regular readers of this blog know, I spend a lot of time writing about the importance of planning ahead for life’s transitions.  Recently, a client asked me to help develop a strategy for dealing with his adult daughter who simply refused to engage in the transition planning process he was trying so hard to complete....
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I am often asked to describe the benefits derived by adult children of aging parents when they elect to work with a family transition coach. Perhaps the best way to answer this question is through an example. I’ve changed some of the personal details to preserve the privacy of those involved, but the situation itself...
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If we’re honest with ourselves, we can remember back to a time when we and our siblings were all living at home and we settled into certain patterns within our families. For example, in a family of three brothers, there was the elder who had his act together, the middle one who was the clown,...
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This is the title for a very interesting blog post on the New York Times’ “New Old Age Blog”. Take a look at the posting. While the post itself is interesting, and covers the concept of care contracts for family caregivers, I find the discussion prompted by this post to be incredibly interesting. The points-of-view...
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I’m often asked, “What’s the difference between a geriatric care manager and a family transition coach?” In a nutshell, the geriatric care manager deals with a situation once it is happening, and tends to focus on the physical and clinical care for the care recipient. On the other hand, a family transition coach is involved...
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Are you a baby boomer? If you answered “yes” then you are probably staring a life transition in the face. Is that face scary or serene? To some degree, that’s up to you. Life transitions, such as getting married, having a child, changing jobs, dealing with health issues, getting divorced, taking care of aging parents,...
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Caregiving is all about control. As the caregiver, you want to control everything so that “nothing bad” happens. The person being cared for wants to remain in control so that they continue to feel like a complete person. If you can remember that control is at the core of every action and every reaction, it...
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