Easing the burden of elderly care

Getting a family to agree on what’s best for an aging parent is fraught with difficulties. A new approach can help

WORKING OUT what’s best for aging parents is a tricky business, no matter how you approach it. Even suggesting that someone should plan the type of care needed for another person is in itself rife with difficulties, even if that person seems not to be fully capable of deciding what his/her care needs are.

Now there is a new group of professionals who specialise in mediating between family members about “age-related issues”. “It’s called elder mediation, mediation with age-related issues or simply peacemaking,” says Judy McCann Beranger, a Canadian mediator who is in Dublin this week to train a group of Irish mediators in elder mediation.

via Easing the burden of elderly care - The Irish Times - Tue, Mar 23, 2010.

Jane Tate, J.D. of  Mediate Michigan LLC has completed training in Elder Care/Family Decision Making mediation and is now offering mediation services in this area.