Are you starting to question if your loved one has dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? Are you caring for a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? If so, please don’t try to walk this road alone. Connie Tomlin has been involved in dementia care and education since 2016, and can provide you with the knowledge guidance, and support you need.

Caregiver Support

Dementia caregiving can be both rewarding and challenging, but there’s no instruction manual to help you figure out all of the many steps you’ll be taking as you care for your loved one. It can feel very lonely and isolating at times, and it is my mission to help you feel less alone throughout this journey. Below is a list of some of the more common issues faced by dementia caregivers that a consulting session can address:

• Receiving the diagnosis, and knowing when and how to tell family members and friends

• Adjusting to the role changes associated with caring for a loved one

• Taking on new responsibilities, often requiring you to do things you’ve never done before

• Navigating the changes in your relationship with your loved one that will happen as a result of your caregiver role

• Dealing with anticipatory grief and loss

• Dealing with compassion fatigue – dementia caregiving is not easy

• Communicating with your loved one throughout the different stages of dementia

• Trying to find purpose and meaning throughout this experience, both for yourself and your loved one

• Accepting help – this can be one of the most difficult aspects of being a caregiver, and also one of the most important things you need to do

• Finding a support group

• Maintaining your own physical health and wellness – this is one of the most overlooked aspects of caregiving, but it is vitally important

Brain Health

Perhaps you feel that you are starting to have difficulty remembering things, or that you’re just not as sharp as you used to be. A brain health consultation can provide you with the tools you need to keep your brain active and healthy. Below is a list of some of the things that can be reviewed in this type of consultation:

• Learn what types of daily activities can be harmful for brain health

• Explore the links between physical health and brain health

• Learn how social connections impact brain health

• Explore activities that can improve brain health

• Learn how nutrition can impact brain health

• Explore the connections between certain over the counter and prescription medications and brain health

• Learn how to establish a daily routine that will be beneficial for ongoing optimum brain health

Connie’s Experience

When searching for an internship site for her master of counseling program, Connie was determined to find a location where she could work with older adults. After doing her due diligence, she discovered that Abe’s Garden in Nashville, TN was considered to be one of the best memory care centers in the country. She was accepted as an intern, and during her internship, she was hired to lead an early-stage dementia group that met two days a week. The program was such a success that it opened an additional two-day-a-week program, and continually had long waiting lists for available spots in both groups.

Check out these videos:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkfV_zG7KIw&t=57s

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC-LIwbK_bk&t=63s

Because of Connie’s counseling background, she also offered counseling sessions for the early-stage group members, as well as for their families.

In addition to the early-stage dementia group, Connie also worked with the Abe’s at Home program where she would go into the home of someone with dementia and provide counseling services for caregivers.