Equipping Family Caregivers with Strategies, Tools and Insights

Hearing from a friend about the resources and programming offered by Denise M. Brown I knew I had to meet her and check out her Caregiving Consultant programs for myself as I was just starting my own business at the end of my social work career.

In the episode you will hear directly from Denise about her own business and its origins, as well as her caregiving story. First, here’s a more information about Denise: Denise supports individuals managing difficult life experiences with coaching, planning and training. Through her work, Denise helps clients find hope, possibilities and a path forward.

Denise began helping individuals who care for a family member in 1990 and launched a business to help them in 1995. She created one of the first online caregiving communities in 1996 which she managed until its sale in 2020. She now develops and delivers training programs for the workplace and for individuals who want to coach family caregivers. More than 400 individuals from eight different countries have enrolled in her training programs offered through her company, The Caregiving Years Training Academy. (https://www.careyearsacademy.com/)

Denise developed several concepts, including The Six Caregiving Stages, The 12 Caregiving Fatigues and The 17 Caregiving Systems, which both explain the complexity of a personal caregiving situation and inspire interventions to better support family caregivers.

For 18 years, Denise led Lunch and Learn workshops at employers located in the Midwest on behalf of Employee Assistance Programs and Work/Life Benefit companies. Her seminars consistently were rated “Excellent” or “Very Good” by attendees. Her workshops provide insights to help attendees manage their work/life balance, their stress and their caregiving responsibilities.

Denise is the author of several books that provide insights, comfort and hope to those who care, including The Caregiving Years, Your Guide to Navigating the Six Caregiving Stages and After Caregiving Ends, A Guide to Beginning Again. Her free resource, A Workbook for Your Workplace Wellness, helps individuals who care, grieve and work.

Denise began helping her parents in 2004 after her father’s bladder cancer diagnosis. Her mom, who had Parkinson’s disease, died in August 2022, one year to the date after Denise’s brother died. She continues to care for her father who is 91.

Next Avenue named Denise a 2017 Influencer in Aging, one of “50 advocates, researchers, thought leaders, innovators, writers and experts who continue to push beyond traditional boundaries and change our understanding of what it means to grow older.” Her insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, US News & World Report, USA Today, SmartMoney.com, Time magazine and Chicago Tribune.

Contact:

• Email: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

• Phone: 773-343-6341

Check out these links:

• Caregiving Reflections, a weekly newsletter: https://denisebrown.substack.com/archive

• Caring Our Way: https://join.caringourway.com/

• The Wall Street Journal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/these-self-care-strategies-can-help-caregivers-cope-with-burnout-11640782803?st=37dob9tjnjt4tke&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink