Stages of Caregiving:
The Family Caregiver’s Emotional Journey
The emotional journey is one path that all caregivers walk at varying paces, but is not often highlighted or discussed.
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Mill Pond in Ashland/Photo by Douglas Flynn |
These phases on the emotional journey are transition points along the way and many times represent some crisis in care, but also provide opportunities for growth.
As health declines and new facets of care arise, the caregiver will cycle through these phases again from various entry points and multiple facets of different phases can certainly overlap. It is not necessarily a linear path.
Initiation Phase
There is a medical crisis which propels the caregiver into the role of caregiving, generally given to the caregiver by the medical staff telling the caregiver what services are needed based on their relationship to the elder.