Crosby Commons Assisted Living Hosts Caregiver Education Program

Crosby Commons Assisted and Independent Living Community, on the Wesley Village campus in Shelton, recently hosted a caregiver education program, entitled, “Preventing Compassion Fatigue and Burnout”, presented by Gerontologist and CEO, Donna B. Fedus, MA. This free program, offered specifically for social workers, administrators, and other health care professionals, was filled with valuable self-care techniques to help caregivers avoid the dangers of burnout in their mission and commitment to caring for others.

Presenter Donna Fedus, discussed the importance of empathy as an essential component of any therapeutic alliance and explained the different ways that caregivers commonly experience compassion fatigue and burnout. In addition to sharing coping strategies for burnout, she also outlined self-care skills to utilize in response to stress. Here is an example of some of the techniques she highlighted:

• Meditative Techniques: These include basic meditation techniques, or a quieting of the mind, along with focused meditation, which is often accompanied by intentional breathing. Also a beneficial technique is activity oriented meditation, such as yoga, mindfulness (remaining present in the moment), and spiritual meditation.
• Self-Care Skills: Some helpful skills to practice include breathing, guided imagery, therapeutic movement, journal writing, expressive art, healthy nutritional habits, clarifying and communicating your feelings, and restructuring your thoughts. Living according to your own values and beliefs in order to guard what is most important in your life is also a helpful skill to practice.

Fedus also offered a Self-Care Action Plan for caregivers to use as a resource to identify how stress affects their mind, body, and spirit, and provided several thought-provoking questions, a mission statement challenge, and a reading and resource guide for further consideration and application. For more information on aging and caregiving from Donna B. Fedus, contact her by email (donna@borrowmyglasses.com), by phone at 203.318.8100, or visit her on the web at borrowmyglasses.com.

Many thanks to all of the caregivers who attended this workshop and to Donna for presenting this important topic!

Crosby Commons at Wesley Village is owned and operated by United Methodist Homes (UMH), a local, faith-based not-for-profit organization based in Shelton, CT. Welsey Village periodically offers workshops with continuing education credits and special programs for professionals who work with older adults. To add your name to the mailing list and stay informed of future programs, contact Dave Primini at 203.225.5020.

For more information about Crosby Commons or UMH, visit www.umh.org, or call 203.225.5000.