Dementia Education Program Newsletter
Caring Conversations is an online forum for care partners of people living with dementia to learn from experts, share concerns and ask questions.
Recording of past sessions are posted below.
- September 22, 2022 at 2 p.m.
Topic: Caregiving and COVID Fatigue
Lucy and Joanne lead a discussion about caregiving through two concurrent pandemics – COVID and mental health. They discuss the anguish and the triumphs and what we have learned about caregiving through both.
- October 25, 2022 at 11 a.m.
Topic: How to manage challenging behaviours associated with dementia
Lucy and Joanne lead a discussion about, and provide tips for, managing difficulties with the activities of daily living, verbal or physical aggression and inappropriate sexual behaviour.
- November 24, 2022 at 2 p.m.
Topic: How has dementia affected how you relate to the person you support?
Lucy and Joanne lead a discussion about how caring for a spouse, parent or friend affects your communication, social life and intimacy.
- December 20, 2022 at 11 a.m.
Topic: Home care or Care home?
Lucy and Joanne talk about recognizing if it is time to transition to supervised a care home, and coping with the feelings that accompany making that type of decision.
- January 17, 2023 at 2 p.m.
Topic: Conflict Amongst Caregivers
Joanne and Lucy lead a discussion about what we can do when siblings, and other family members and caregivers do not agree.
- February 16, 2023 at 11 a.m.
Topic: The Positive Aspects of Caregiving
Lucy and Joanne share research results on the positive aspects of caregiving, including the health and wellbeing benefits that it can bring. A discussion on the value of acceptance followed.
- March 28, 2023 at 11 a.m.
Topic: Using Positive Intelligence to Cope with Caregiver Challenges
Joanne and Lucy talk about how we can mute the voices in our head that generate negative emotions that can interfere with our ability to manage difficult situations. They offer tools to favor resilience and help identify our triggers, so that caregivers can respond constructively to challenging situations.
- April 27, 2023 at 2 p.m.
Topic: Your Questions Answered
Lucy and Joanne focus on the needs of Caring Conversations participants. They address topics raised in the evaluation forms of past episodes and leave time to respond to other questions.
- September 26, 2023 at 10 a.m.
Topic: Hygiene and Dementia
Lucy and Joanne discuss what caregivers of people living with dementia can do when the person they support refuses personal daily care.
- October 24, 2023 at 10 a.m.
Topic: Dementia and Inappropriate Sexual Behaviour
A big challenge that caregivers might face is managing inappropriate sexual behaviour exhibited by a person with dementia. Lucy and Joanne discuss the feelings this can cause and provide some tips for dealing with it.
- November 28, 2023 at 10 a.m. EST
Topic: Caring for Someone with Dementia: What You Need to Know About Hallucinations, Delusions and Paranoia
Joanne and Lucy explain the difference between these troubling experiences. They discuss why these may occur with dementia, and provide some tips on how to respond to each situation.
- December 19, 2023 at 10 a.m. EST
Topic: Safe Use of Medications for Seniors and Caregivers
Lucy and Joanne explore possible side effects of medications and the risks of falls when taking medications. They also discuss common mistakes people sometimes make when taking medications.
- January 16, 2024 at 10 a.m. EST
Topic: Questions caregivers ask themselves
Lucy and Joanne have a personal conversation about the most challenging issues they have experienced as caregivers and witnessed in their practice, and talk about what helped.
- February 29, 2024 at 10 a.m. EST
Topic: A series of emotions - how to manage sadness, anger and uncertainty
Lucy and Joanne talk about the range of emotions that caregivers can experience and provide tips on how to manage them.
March 19, 2024 at 10 a.m. EST
Topic: Guilt and self-care
Joanne and Lucy will dive into the emotion of guilt and the importance of prioritizing self-care.
April 16, 2024 at 10 a.m. EDT
Topic: Using Positive Intelligence in Caregiving
Lucy and Joanne will discuss how this approach can help set boundaries and address many other difficulties that have been raised in earlier episodes of Caring Conversations.
Caring Conversations is supported by Petro-Canada CareMakers Foundation.
