How Do You Navigate Stormy Seas with Aging Parents:
Individual Coaching and Communication Skills Training
Communication skills training within families is a delicate undertaking... and what you'd never have imagined you'd need...
You'd like to think you know your parents well. You thought you knew yourself. But when you got that last call... Who WAS that on the other end??? Always so predictable before and now what's happening is just NOT making sense! You thought you were trying to be reasonable and logical, but then you lost your cool.
You know your parents are aging. Why does every conversation, every decision, have to be so hard?
You may have read lots of articles about dealing with aging parents that just give you more facts... more information.
I view this work differently than others.
In addition to the myriad medical, legal and financial issues, at the very core, this is a spiritual voyage. When confronting aging and the end of life we deal with our deepest values and beliefs; our search for meaning and our brush with mystery; our future fears and our past regrets.
All of that taps into emotions that you and your aging parents have rarely dealt with before. You're feeling completely adrift on choppy seas.
In rough waters...you need a guide.
Dale Susan Edmonds, M.Div., Family Communications Coach
I've been guiding families to talk about and plan for the challenges of aging for over 30 years.
So what will I do for you?
While it's true that progressive elder-life planning could leave you weighed down and drowning in the tasks, information, and decisions that will emerge, I will help you talk about and plan the issues of aging and end-of-life in a way that allows you, your aging parents and family to stay afloat and open to the possibilities for life, fun, humor, and joy along the way.
At the same time - I will guide you to help your family be honest about the loss and grief that will accompany you all on the journey. Developing the communication skills to deal openly with decline and sadness does take training and practice. And suppressing these issues is the source of much conflict and angst as individuals and families struggle to hang on to what may never be again.
I do have the resources to help you discuss the medical, legal and financial decisions to come. I can also share the skills to navigate the spiritual journey. Not defined exclusively by religion, but by "what matters most" to your parents -- their values, what holds meaning, what makes their life make sense, and in time, what will make facing their death most peaceful.
Let me be your guide through:
Coaching Packages &
Communication Skills Training
Communication 911
- When you've run aground with your aging parents or extended family and are not sure how to move forward.
- When you're caught off-guard by new evidence of your parents' increasing frailty and vulnerability and the intensity of your own reaction. You'd just like support to get yourself together and more clarity for what's next.
Individual Coaching Session:
One 60 minute phone session -- $250
You email me the basics before the call so I can prepare. We set a time and meet by phone. I ask a lot of questions and listen intently. We zoom in on what's most urgent. We work together to help you address the core situation.
Map Making
- When you're overwhelmed with questions and you are wondering how to put order into your thinking so you can prioritize the things that need attention and what to tackle first.
- When you and your parents or siblings differ about the urgency or scope of what needs to be addressed. You sense things looming in the distance are going to come toward you fast.
Map-Making Coaching Package:
3 - 45 minute phone sessions -- $650
You email me the basics before the call. We schedule three times to meet by phone. I ask a lot of questions and listen intently. I share the resources and tools that I have. You have some assignments between calls. We work together to chart a course of action. You leave with a plan.
Sailing Together
So now that you understand where I stand a bit more, you know that I believe in going deep with you.
While I offer short term options for working together, you will find that inviting me to accompany you on a longer stretch of the journey will net you the biggest catch of clarity and confidence.
6 month Coaching & Conversation Practice Package:
6 - 45 minute phone sessions -- $1050
You complete a Pre-Work Assessment before the first call. We agree on general goals and direction. Calls will be scheduled 6 times over 6 months to meet by phone. I ask a lot of questions and listen intently. I share the resources and tools that I have.
You complete assignments and initial family conversations between calls. We work
together to set the course, review your progress and revise your plan of action for the next session.
You leave with confidence, and a guided conversation and decision sequence for the next phase of life.
So what is working with me like?
I'm curious. So I will ask lots of questions that will help me know you better. And ideally help you know yourself and your family better.
I work best with people who want to
learn about themselves, their siblings, their parents, and the people
they will encounter along the way. I will respect your instincts and your family history. My goal is that we will learn from
each other on this journey.
I will be your champion - to face whatever comes next, whatever strikes fear, whatever you would rather turn away from. I will help you craft a plan that will be a touchstone and guide through what may be a turbulent time.
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