Living with Illness and End-of-Life Planning and Support:
When diagnosed with a serious or terminal illness, planning for your changing care needs is key to ensuring you have the quality of life you want. Depending on many factors, you may choose to pursue treatment to prolong your life or consider having comfort-focused hospice care as your illness progresses. My clients will receive compassionate guidance to talk about what is most important to you while living with a serious or terminal illness. I also facilitate discussions with family to ensure your end-of-life wishes are honored and supported.
Dignity Therapy:
Dignity Therapy© was created by psychiatrist Dr. Harvey Chochinov for use with people in later life or who are terminally ill. Through an open-ended interview process you will share about your unique background and life experiences. Based on our discussion, I then create a legacy document that gives your loved ones the gift of knowing who you are and how you view your life experiences.
Caregiver Coaching and Support:
Supporting a family member through a serious illness or providing long term care support to a loved one can be overwhelming and stressful. You will receive individual coaching and education to learn how to best support your loved one while also caring for yourself. Peer support groups are also available to connect with others around the joys, worries, opportunities, and challenges of supporting loved ones with care needs.
Advance Care Planning:
Advance care planning starts with conversations about what you value and hope for as your health and care needs change. Advance care planning documents (a Living Will/Advance Directive and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare) are then created that outline what you want (and don’t want) as you age or go through medical treatment for an illness. I can also review your existing advance care planning documents to ensure they continue to reflect your desires as your health or care needs change.
My consulting fee is $150/hour. Initial consultations generally cost between $225-$300. I am glad to talk with you about flexibility in pricing if cost is a concern.
-Steve and Julee Johnson
-Celina T.
Fellow Adult Children!
More and more of us have parents who are experiencing health issues that impact their independence. It can feel scary to bring up concerns you might have about a parent’s health and care support needs. Depending on their background and experience, their ideas about aging and receiving help from others can run the gamut from intending to live beyond 100 (and maybe living with you!) to preparing an ‘exit strategy’ that gives them autonomy over when and how they die. Many adult children struggle with how to talk to parents about their role in supporting changing care needs. I hope to shift any reluctance you have about bringing up these issues to a positive opportunity to learn more about your folks, and to be an ally to them as they get older or develop a serious health issue. As I like to remind clients: We’ve got this!
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