CaregiverHelp FAQs

Elaine & Alex Sanchez developed CaregiverHelpCaregiverHelp.com was developed by Caregiver Speaker Elaine K Sanchez and Dr. Alex A Sanchez, whose passion for helping others came from their own experiences of caring for family members. Elaine is the author of the unflinching honest and surprisingly funny book, “Letters from Madelyn, Chronicles of a Caregiver”. She travels throughout the U.S. delivering keynotes, workshop and training sessions for long-term care workers. She writes the caregiver blog, “Caregiver Help Word of the Day”.

Alex Sanchez earned his doctorate in educational psychology. He served as a community college president for 15 years and retired from his faculty position at Oregon State University in December, 2013.

Together the couple has developed an online course for students in the gerontology degree program at Western Oregon University and a number of online continuing education courses for mental health professionals, nurses, long-term care administrators and long-term care workers.

https://caregiverhelp.com/ is a video-based caregiver support program that helps family and professional caregivers get a handle on their anger, stop feeling guilty, deal with depression, cope with grief, and manage dementia-related challenging behaviors. It’s unique in that it uses humor and storytelling to coach people through a process that helps them develop a plan for self-care in order to avoid caregiver burnout.

The stories come from our own experiences and from Elaine’s book, “Letters from Madelyn, Chronicles of a Caregiver”. Her mother, Madelyn Kubin, was a Kansas farm wife who wrote letters during the six-and-a-half years she cared for Elaine’s father following his debilitating stroke. Several stories come from Dorothy Tucker, a woman who kept a journal during the 30 years she worked as a nurse in nursing homes and on Alzheimer’s units. And we continue to add stories that people share with us as we travel throughout the country speaking at caregiving conferences.

We want you to be able to find caregiver support when you need it – whether it’s 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon or 3:00 o’clock in the morning. We believe watching a video is easier than following endless links to pages filled with dense print. That’s why we designed this program to be available online 24/7 on your computer as well as on all of your mobile devices.

We understand that the emotional stress of caring for aging, chronically ill, or disabled individuals takes a tremendous physical, mental, and emotional toll on the caregiver. We think you’re working hard enough providing care, and you shouldn’t have to work hard to find support.

Even if you only have 10 minutes, you can pick a topic, watch a real-life caregiver story or instructional video, or read one of Elaine’s Caregiver Blog posts. If you need an uplifting thought or some insight into a dealing with a difficult emotional issue, we hope you’ll turn to us for the support you need to get through a long day or a sleepless night.

Each module is like a chapter in a book. The main chapters are:

  • Anger
  • Guilt
  • Depression
  • Grief
  • Dementia Issues
  • Self-Care

Each module contains videos, journal worksheets, and action plans. Some modules contain several sub-topics, such as Fatigue, Fear, and Frustration.

The graphics and animated characters featured in the videos and in many of the Caregiver Help Word of the Day Blogs written by Elaine Sanchez, come from the website http://www.presentermedia.com/. It is a subscription-based service that provides thousands of images which reflect human emotions.

Knowing that humor is a powerful tool against boredom and stress, Elaine Sanchez started using the images in her PowerPoint presentations in breakout sessions and caregiver training workshops. She later incorporated them into the animated videos featured on the website.

The animated short “Claudia Robs a Bank” was created and produced by http://copperfishstudios.com/

CaregiverHelp.com is unique in that it incorporates humor and real-life caregiving stories into entertaining and educational videos. There are seven modules that help family and professional caregivers cope with the emotional stress of caregiving and deal with the challenges of caring for individuals who have Alzheimer’s or other dementia-related diseases.

The caregiver videos are a combination of excerpts from keynotes and workshops delivered by Elaine Sanchez and animated videos in which cartoon characters reflect the emotional stress experienced by most caregivers.

It is available online 24/7 on all of your mobile devices. It is also available in a DVD package that includes a 24-page Caregiver Survival Training Workbook.

Family caregivers and caregiver support groups as well as people who need continuing education credits in the fields of mental health and long-term healthcare. The program benefits anyone who needs help understanding and coping with the stress of caring for people who are aging, chronically ill or disabled. It is especially useful for caregivers of stroke survivors and people who have Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other progressive and degenerative diseases, as it includes information on dealing with dementia-related challenging behaviors, with a special emphasis on sexuality and dementia.

We designed this caregiver support program to be flexible. Depending on how much time you have, you can start at the beginning and go through all of the modules in sequential order, or you can pick a specific topic, watch the videos and complete the journal worksheets one module at a time.

Even if you only have ten minutes, you can find inspiration and support by watching a short video or reading a couple entries on Elaine’s Caregiver Help “Word of the Day Blog”. If you are driving in a car or cooking dinner, you could listen to a chapter from her book, “Letters from Madelyn, Chronicles of a Caregiver”. You could also choose listen to one of her recorded radio programs featuring interesting topics and engaging guests.

There are a variety of ways support groups can use CaregiverHelp.com. Caregivers can watch the videos on their computer or mobile devices at home, or they can watch the videos in a group setting. If Internet service is not reliable where the group meets, DVD packages and printed workbooks are available.

The Caregiver Support Package includes a facilitator’s guide, high-quality Caregiver Survival Training Workbooks and a license to use all materials. Contact Elaine Sanchez at 503-949-2464 or email her at Elaine@EKSanchez.com for pricing and packaging.

Healthcare Professionals Can Earn CEU’s

As a Healthcare Professional you can earn CEU’s online or in live training sessions with Elaine K Sanchez.

Live Training

Elaine Sanchez is a licensed provider/trainer with DSHS to do provide live training for long-term care workers in the State of Washington. To book Elaine K Sanchez 503-949-2464

Online CE’s

Psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and family counselors can take three online courses through Professional Development Resources:

CaregiverHelp: Anger and Guilt Course – 2 CE’s
https://www.pdresources.org/course/index/1/1201/Caregiver-Help-Anger-and-Guilt

CaregiverHelp: Depression and Grief Course – 2 CE’s
https://www.pdresources.org/course/index/1/1218/Caregiver-Help-Depression-and-Grief

Coming Soon
CaregiverHelp:Understanding and Coping with Dementia-Related Issues, Including Inappropriate Sexual Behavior – 1 CE

Online CEU Course for Nurses and Long-term Care Administrators

Alzheimer’s Survival Training – 3.5 CEU’s
http://www.nurseslearning.com/ceus-r-ez/syllabus.cfm?coursekey=5894

The Caregiver Help support program is video-based, so no special training is necessary. No memorization is required, and there are no scripts that have to be followed. The videos are content rich, and the Facilitator’s Guide provides easy to follow step-by-step instructions. Coaching questions are included for each module to provide structure and flexibility. Previewing the material, reviewing the session goals, and reading the coaching questions ahead of time is recommended, but is not absolutely necessary.

Individual family caregivers can visit the website as many times as they wish. There is no charge for an individual to print the journal/worksheets. Caregiver support groups, long-term care facilities and other organizations that want to offer the content for employee training or in a group setting, need to purchase an annual license fee. Contact us at 503-949-2464 or email Elaine@EKSanchez.com for pricing and packaging.

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