Caring for the Caregiver Workshops - AARP VI Training Series

FREE EVENT!

Learning and growing as a caregiver is a responsibility that is ongoing, and the caregiver’s self-care can be overlooked or buried beneath an avalanche of scheduled responsibilities. The question ‘what about me’ can often be viewed as a luxury item when continued support is a necessity. Discovering when to take time for self-care is a skill that requires development and must resonate at the heart of all caregivers.

Learning how to take time for self-care may be challenged by several barriers, which may include limiting beliefs, adjusting to role reversals and implementing new structures for caring. Caregiving can also contribute to behavioral health concerns such as burnout, negative self-talk, depression, compassion fatigue and loneliness. In short, the journey of caregiving is a uniquely personal experience.

The Caring for the Caregiver workshops were developed to provide practical information to help caregivers remember the parts of their lives that require a voice, an ear, and a heart. The objective of the virtual workshops is to provide information and experiences that will aid participants in deepening their knowledge of the caregiving journey, discovering ways to balance self-care and caregiving and generating caring tribes that extend beyond the four sessions.

THE WORKSHOPS:

Day 1 - September 29th from 5:30pm-7:30pm
Who’s Driving the Bus? - The intersection of Narrative and the Transition into Caregiving
Register Here: https://events.aarp.org/ydQ8Wr

This session explores the transition into becoming a caregiver, the internal narratives that support the transition, managing multiple caregiver networks and the importance of self-awareness in the caregiving journey.

THE LEARNING LAB:

• Whose Job is it Anyway: Managing the new role of caregiving

• The Evolving Caregiver: Planning for caregiving

• Point-to-Ponder

A PLACE FOR US:

Caring for the Caregivers Workshop Series, 2025 4

• Heart-to-Heart (Testimonial and guided discussion)

• Care-Free (Movement)

• Breathing Lessons (Breathing Meditation)

• Evaluation

Day 2 - September 30th from 5:30pm-7:30pm
GIVEOMETRY: DIMENSIONS OF CAREGIVING
Register Here: https://events.aarp.org/mgx5vr

This session, inspired by geometry, uses simple symbols to explore the complexity involved in finding the right balance in managing the quality of care for loved ones.

THE LEARNING LAB:

• The Giveometry Cycle

• Try-angles: Finding balance

• Feeling Squared: Identifying and planning for crisis and other challenges

• Connecting with wholeness: Creating safe spaces

• Point-to-Ponder

A PLACE FOR US:

• Heart-to-Heart (Testimonial and guided discussion)

• Care-Free (Movement)

• Breathing Lessons (Breathing Meditation)

• Evaluation

Day 3 - October 1st from 5:30pm - 7:30pm
THE PLACE FOR US: THE WISDOM OF CAREGIVER SELF-CARE
Register Here https://events.aarp.org/w7R8VE

The session explores recognizing the need for self-care as a caregiver, the misconception of the need to be an extraordinary caregiver and other stressors such as compassion fatigue and loneliness. It also recognizes forgiveness as a self-care resource.

THE LEARNING LAB:

• What about me: Identifying and creating a space for self-care as a caregiver

• No Ordinary People: The truth about being extraordinary

• The Forgiveability Factor: Identifying self and other forgiveness as a tenant of self-care

• Point-to-Ponder

A PLACE FOR US:

• Heart-to-Heart (Testimonial and guided discussion)

• Care-Free (Movement)

• Breathing Lessons (Breathing Meditation)

• Evaluation

Day 4 - October 2nd from 5:30pm-7:30pm
WHAT’S YOUR WHO?
Register Here: https://events.aarp.org/RvVE9W

This session explores what’s next in life after the caregiving journey has culminated and looks at the work of transitioning into new roles and creating brave new stories.

THE LEARNING LAB:

• The Transitioning Caregiver: Preparing for Death and Dying

• What’s Left: Negotiating the stages of grief, reintegrating, and writing brave new stories

• Point-to-Ponder

A PLACE FOR US:

• Heart-to-Heart (Testimonial and guided discussion)

• Care-Free (Movement)

• Breathing Lessons (Breathing Meditation)

• Evaluation