Caregiver's Compass

In episode 62, Stephanie speaks to Adria Thompson who, in 2021, grew her passion for helping dementia caregivers and those with dementia as an SLP with Be Light Care Consulting. She talks about how her career as a speech language pathologist led to her overall vision to provide support to caregivers around the world.

About Adria:

Adria Thompson is a speech language pathologist, a dementia educator, and is the founder of Be Light Care Consulting. She has 8 years experience providing one-on-one speech therapy services with adults and found her passion and purpose in specifically working with people with dementia. She has spent the last 3 years developing dementia programs for therapy companies and training other therapists to increase their effectiveness and confidence. She now provides one-on-one consulting services and creates daily videos of realistic, functional care tips for professional and personal caregivers of individuals with dementia.

Find Adria:

On Instagram: @belightcare

In episode 61, Lisa Sonshine from the Juno Award winning duo Sonshine and Broccoli talks to Stephanie about her father’s FTD diagnosis, decline and passing- a part of her life she has not shared in great detail in the past. She notes how she has taken her grief from this very difficult time and has poured it into her passion for uplifting others through music and performance.

About Lisa:

Lisa is the co-founder and creator of Sonshine and Broccoli as well as a proud wife, entertainer and mom of 2 boys Zade and Barryn bringing joy, style, positivity and sonshine to all.

With her sons Zade and baby Barryn in tow,she is just getting started as a new mom with the drive and passion to support, motivate and entertain other moms going through the stages of motherhood by her side.

Find Lisa

Instagram: @sonshinel
Website: https://www.sonshineandbroccoli.com/

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In Episode 60, Stephanie discusses a commonly expressed thought that many of her clients express having: I wish this situation would just end. She explores the guilt, shame and embarrassment that can surround this thought and the reasons why a caregiver may have these thoughts.

*Please note: If you ever have the intention or thought of harming yourself or someone else please contact your local emergency department immediately.*

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In episode 59, Stephanie further talks about her journey after her mom’s initial diagnosis of FTD. She touches upon what her life looked like after she moved out of her home, caregiving for her grandmother, how she established boundaries when it came to balancing her own life and her mom’s care and how life has been since she had 3 children of her own.

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In this episode, Stephanie speaks to social worker Kelly Polci who has worked with pregnant and postpartum women and families in high-risk obstetrics and the NICU. They look at the systemic definition of postpartum and what supports are currently available in the postpartum period to women in Ontario. They additionally talk about scenarios in which a mother may have a child requiring NICU care while needing to go to and from the hospital to care for other family members and how one can balance their mental health needs at this time.

Kelly Polci, MSW, RSW is a registered social worker and psychotherapist in private practice. She now works at The Hospital for Sick Children. The bulk of her career was in high risk obstetrics and a high-acuity neonatal intensive care unit at another hospital. Her passion and expertise is in women’s and more specifically reproductive mental health.

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In this episode, Stephanie speaks to nurse and caregiving consultant, Karen Lake, as she discusses how she went from caring for patients as a nurse in an inpatient hospital setting to providing consultations and assisting caregivers with their overall support systems and system navigation.

About Karen Lake: Karen proudly works as a professional Caregiving Consultant and Care Navigator; called to offer this service to families after working as a Registered Nurse in Home Health Care for 25 years. She has a special passion for supporting, guiding, and directing family members to be the best they can be in their caregiving role, to help them make informed choices, to be prepared and to confidently navigate the complex issues that come with caring for a loved one. Karen has seen the emotional struggles that family members face as they attempt to balance caregiving with the other demands of life; children, career, retirement and illness. And so, she has made it her mission to serve and support family members of aging loved ones in the Fredericton area, and beyond.

Gathering her years of experience and expertise, she has carefully crafted comprehensive programs that are tailored to meet each family’s specific needs. When not supporting her clients, she collaborates on other projects, such as the first ever Death Expo in Atlantic Canada, Caregivers Wellness Retreats, Caregiver Wellness Expos and has more recently ventured into the world of research working on several projects that support Family Caregivers.

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This situation is a very common and real occurrence. One day, you do not feel your loved one can be appropriately cared for in their home anymore. In this anonymous and real case scenario, Stephanie talks about a situation in which a patient she was working with was believed to no longer be safe in her home. She discusses the deep struggle her family went through to decide what the best plan would be for the most positive outcome.

Stephanie also shares some suggestions that may assist while navigating this very emotional and difficult situation.

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In episode 55, Stephanie continues to talk about how her mom’s FTD diagnosis shaped her life and the relationships between herself and others as she touches upon how she initially reacted to the changes in her mom and the emotions that came along with this. Thoughts of grief, overwhelm, isolation, fear and anxiety are mentioned in this very real and relatable episode. Stephanie also discusses what she feels like 13-14 years later and how the emotions and adjustment to her mom’s diagnosis have changed.

Just before her 26th birthday, Katherine’s partner, Ben, was brutally assaulted while on vacation. Ben experienced a severe traumatic brain injury as a result which he has spent the past 3.5 years recovering from. Katherine put her entire life on hold and suddenly became his full-time caregiver, dedicating her daily life to his care and going on an emotional, life-altering journey. Katherine talks all about the past few years in episode 54 , and discusses how she has found light in the darkest of days.

Find Katherine on Instagram: @kathhsmithh

You may be thinking to yourself: how could therapy possibly help me as a caregiver? Therapy cannot get rid of the tasks at hand or the responsibilities I have or my loved one’s decline- so how could a therapist help me with my overwhelm, stress, sadness and burnout?

And in this episode, Stephanie discusses how the deep concerns that caregivers come to her with are often not even about the caregiving at all.In episode 63 Stephanie explores what often arises when caregivers come to her for support and how she helps caregivers through these difficult times.

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