Senior caregivers: The importance of bonding with clients-and how to do it more deeply
We have another wonderful article from care.com!
Our staff loves to find ways to bond with each and every one of our Residents and we think it is so important. Why do professional caregivers bond so easily?
San Francisco-based psychologist Tamara McClintock Greenberg, PsyD, author of When Someone You Love Has a Chronic Illness, discusses how people who don’t have good relationships with their adult children sometimes seek a close relationship with caregivers: “Non-family caregivers can be viewed by elders as a ‘second chance’ to mentor a younger caregiver and be a good ‘parent.’ Such interactions can be healing for elders who may feel that they don’t have the kinds of relationships they would like with their own adult children.”
Family caregivers often find it hard to care for their aging parents, Greenberg adds: “Just seeing our parents need our help can create a variety of distressing feelings, as the parent-child role is reversed. Non-family caregivers don’t usually have these inevitable feelings to sort out.”
On this topic, Laurel Purghart, a Vancouver-based care designer with Nurse Next Door, says, “Sometimes there’s a bit of ego involved because the relationship changes when you have to look after your parents…That’s where [professional] caregiving takes the pressure off — it’s that sweet spot of companionship and physical care.”
Karl Beaucamp, a caregiver with Right At Home, where he was recently named Northeast Regional Caregiver of the Year, says, “I think the bond helps caregivers be better at what they do, because the more compassion you have for someone, the more you want to help them.”
How to bond more deeply with clients:
- Keep it upbeat
- Be an avid listener
- Engage seniors with personalized activities
- Empathize with life circumstances
- Respect their autonomy
Read the full article now!
