Week 5 - The SCALE Program (Support for Caregivers Awareness, Learning, Empowerment) nurtures mental health and wellness for caregivers.

Presented by OCO / OSANO

The SCALE Program (Support for Caregivers Awareness, Learning, Empowerment) nurtures mental health and wellness for caregivers.

About this event

The SCALE Program aims to empower caregivers with practical information and skills to focus on their own mental health and well-being. Participants will receive strategies, tools, and resources to better cope with difficult caregiving emotions.

Our Program

Weekly Psychoeducational Webinars

• You can sign up for the entire session or individual weeks, depending on your availability and/or interest.
• Watch live or recorded. All live webinars have been recorded and will be posted exclusively on the Ontario Caregiver Organization YouTube channel after the live event. Only registered participants will be emailed a link after the webinar.

Online Group Coaching and Individual Counselling

• Counselling is free and confidential as well as optional to register for.

• Spaces are limited, and registration is based on a first-come, first-served basis.
• To receive the maximum benefit from the group and individual counselling, it is highly encouraged to also take part in the weekly webinars.

Registration

• A zoom link to join live will be emailed to those who register.
• An online booking link will also be sent to everyone who registers with the opportunity to register for group and/or individual counselling through Dynamic Health.

Other Information

• Frequently asked questions
• For more information, please visit The Scale Program on our website.
• Please contact info@ontariocaregiver.ca with any questions about participating in this webinar.

This program is brought to you in partnership with the Ontario Caregiver Organization and Dynamic Health.

Please note that all live webinars are from 12 p.m - 1 p.m Eastern Time

Week 4: How Caregivers can Manage Sadness & Guilt (March 1st)

Explore the feelings that drag you down and keep reminding you that you aren’t doing enough and about the cognitive distortions that keep you in the shame-cycle.

Understand different caregiver’s experiences of sadness and guilt. Learn about the signs of guilt and the common themes often associated with guilt as a caregiver. This session will help you differentiate between two coping pathways: (1) thoughts and (2) emotion. Too often we face cognitive distortions, the sneaky ways your mind convinces you of something that isn’t really true. Learn to identify and unpack these cognitive distortions that you may be having as a caregiver like “I should be able to care for her on my own at home” or “I’m a failure as a daughter.” We will question these negative thoughts and ask, “is this 100% true?”. We will also explore the emotion of sadness and the triggers that cause it, including the grieving process.

SESSION 2: STRATEGIES FOR CAREGIVERS MENTAL WELLBEING

The following topics will be explored each week:

Week 1: Become a Mindful Caregiver (March 8th)

Explore the seven attitudes of mindfulness and how this can be integrated into your caregiving relationship.

In this session, we will explore practical suggestions to activate your parasympathetic nervous system to trigger a state of relaxation, while learning mindfulness-based exercises you can easily do at home as a caregiver. We also learn and unpack the seven attitudes of mindfulness to help you within your caregiving relationship: (1) non-judgement, (2) patience, (3) A beginner’s mind, (4) trust, (5) non-striving, (6) acceptance and (7) and letting go.