Recommended Wellness Programs

Creating Confident Caregivers
Creating Confident Caregivers is a six-week program for family caregivers of persons living with dementia who live at home. It provides knowledge, skills, and information to improve caregiving for both the caregiver and the person with dementia, and is facilitated by trained staff from the Area Agencies on Aging around the state. For more information on Creating Confident Caregivers and to find a program near you, please visit the website here.

Caregiver Wellness Day
Caregiver Wellness Day is a free event for family caregivers of an adult living with dementia. We welcome all newcomers and returning participants to a relaxing and fun day. Enjoy lunch, chair massage, restorative activities and much more. This program is part of the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center Wellness Initiative and is led by Laura Rice-Oeschger, LMSW. For more information about Caregiver Wellness Day, visit the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center Wellness Initiative website here.

Catching Your Breath
Catching Your Breath is a free monthly program for learning and practicing stress resilience skills for continued health, balance and well-being. These skills are essential to healthy care partnering and living well. Stress is a part of life and we can learn to respond to its presence with presence and react less frequently on auto-pilot. When we regularly practice paying attention to the body, mind and heart, we enhance our ability to make balanced choices and create a little space for moments of self-care and kindness. We do the best we can with the time we have every day, and this is enough. By taking care of ourselves, as care partners and human beings, we have more to give without depleting our own wellness reserves, which are essential to balanced living. For more information about Catching Your Breath, visit the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center Wellness Initiative page here.

Have a Seat
Have a Seat is a FREE weekly, online, guided meditation program for family caregivers, professional caregivers and adults with a dementia. Thursdays 12pm-12:30pm. There is no registration required. To participate in this program, all you need is a computer to join via web link or a phone to listen to the guided meditation. This program is part of the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Wellness Initiative. You can locate the current link for this program by visiting the MADC Wellness page here.

Mindfulness-Based Dementia Care
Mindfulness-Based Dementia Care is an eight-week course, provided by the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center, and designed for family caregivers of adults living with memory loss. Learn how the practice of mindfulness can help you cope with the challenges and stresses of dementia care. Stress can be mentally draining, physically damaging, and emotionally overwhelming. Mindfulness offers invaluable resources and coping practices that can improve the wellbeing and quality of life of both you and the person in your care. For more information on Mindfulness Based Dementia Care, visit the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center Wellness Initiative site here.

Powerful Tools for Caregivers
Powerful Tools for Caregivers is an educational series for family caregivers to help them take care of themselves while caring for a relative or friend. The Powerful Tools for Caregivers series will give family caregivers the tools to help reduce stress, communicate effectively with other family members, doctors, and care aides, take care of themselves, reduce guilt, anger, and depression, set goals, and problem solve. For more information about Powerful Tools for Caregivers, visit the MSU Extension site here.

RELAX – Alternatives to Anger
RELAX: Alternatives to Anger is a four-part educational series designed to help adults, parents, teens and caregivers increase their knowledge about anger issues and put anger management and healthy relationship skills into practice. Through presentations, group discussion and skill-building activities, participants will learn what anger is, what triggers anger, calming down and de-stressing methods, the principles of problem solving, effective communication skills and forgiving and letting go of the past. This multi-session program can be provided in a variety of community educational settings and is also available online. For more information on the RELAX: Alternatives to Anger series, visit the site here.

Stress Less with Mindfulness
Stress Less with Mindfulness is an educational series hosted by MSU Extension in collaboration with West Virginia University Extension, and introduces participants to the experience and practice of mindfulness to reduce stress. Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, and without judgment. Research has shown that practicing mindfulness is effective in reducing stress-related symptoms such as worry, depression and physical tension, and may be helpful in managing chronic conditions such as cardiac disease and diabetes. By offering alternative ways of relating to everyday life experiences, including thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and events, this program teaches and encourages the use of mindfulness self-care skills to help you feel better and enjoy your life more. For more information about Stress Less with Mindfulness, please visit the site here.