Description: The Caregiver Advantage is a free 7-week program of education and support for caregivers. Pre-registration required. Free care for your loved one provided by Helping Hands Adult Day Program so you can do the training.2021Meets once a week on Thursdays beginning September 16, 2021.10am-1pm - Free training10am-3pm - Free care provided for the person you care for so you can do the training, then have a couple of hours to do other things.Contact: Elizabeth Rawson, MA, 530-277-1294, thecaregiveradvantage@gmail.comwww.thecaregiveradvantage.com2021 SyllabusSept 16 Meeting # 1: Creativity As Self-Care Introductions, caregiver welcome. A breathing exercise and visualization introduce techniques for stress reduction. Collage integrates what is needed for each caregiver step out of isolation to find a safe place to begin to explore self-priority skills. Sharing begins the group pulling together. Sept 23 Meeting # 2: Receiving the gift of self-care: Clay as the containerCaregivers are expert givers. Class experience asks them to consider receiving. Using the breath as a tool for relaxation is practiced. Creating a simple clay container invites awareness to accept and hold the ability to receive moments of time for self-care and alleviate stressors. Brainstorming contributes to caregivers' personal and group pulling together. Sept 30 Meeting # 3: The Relaxed and Responsive Caregiver.What do stress, frustration, and anger look like Playfully using music, color, lines, shapes and textures caregivers express emotions, thoughts and attitudes experienced in their daily responsibilities.Interrupting thought patterns by noticing the difference between a tension-producing task and a relaxation-producing skill is reinforced to recognize how to regain control in a difficult situation.The Phone Pal is introduced to boost support and connection. Oct 7 Meeting # 4: Grace in the Face of GriefCaregivers decorate a box for their memories, recognition, understanding and comprehension of what it means to hold grief. The creative process helps make it real, taking time for expressing difficult emotions in a safe place: the ambiguous loss, pain, frustration and strain each caregiver faces; accepting that finding joy in sweet moments allows grace as a gift on their journey. Oct 14 Meeting # 5: Collaborating CreativelyIsolation, & lack of knowing how it would be to advocate for self-care, are serious issues for caregivers. The task of choosing materials to represent self in a group project creates a sense of individual empowerment and strength in community for the caregivers. Oct 21 Meeting # 6: Helping HandsCaregiving creates isolation. Practicing within a group setting supports each caregiver in developing their skills, acknowledging and strengthening their need to ask for help and support from friends, area services, medical settings as strategies to manage their caregiving role. Oct 28 Meeting # 7: You ARE a Blessing!The visualization & relaxation invites each caregiver to think about what they brought to the class, and who they are now within the group. Caregivers participate in a round robin, contributing to each others' final image. Validation in accessing self-care techniques within social support and community strengthens capacity for resilience in the caregiver role. This is a class series that builds upon each meeting. It is not a drop-in group.
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