Penn Memory Center offers a 6-week Class for Caregivers of Loved Ones with Dementia

Starting March 10 the Penn Memory Center will again offer a six-week psychoeducational class for caregivers of a family member or other loved one with dementia. Unlike an ongoing support group, this course runs for just six weeks: Wednesdays in March and April from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Participants will learn specific techniques to better care for loved ones and ways of coping with the personal and emotional challenges. Each session includes a relaxation exercise for stress management, and other techniques geared to help deal with thoughts and feelings as a caregiver.

A variety of topics will be covered, including improving communication with the person for whom you care and their professional care providers. You will also learn ways to evaluate and modify both your own and your loved one’s behaviors which will can help manage distressing and difficult behaviors.

Previous participants have said they found the tips and tools shared in this course to be very helpful. They also shared that having the opportunity to interact with others going through similar experiences was very valuable.

The group is open to any person caring for someone with Alzheimer’s Disease of any stage. Much of the content of the program is geared toward individuals caring for someone who, while still living in the community, has had dementia for a few years and needs support managing money, medicines, cooking, or driving, and who may be showing changes in their personality and behavior. Cost for participation in this six-week course is $120.

The Penn Memory Center is where individuals and families can come for evaluation and treatment of symptoms of age related memory loss. The goal of the Penn Memory Center is to provide a thorough evaluation for individuals who have memory loss, confusion, personality change, or other signs of a dementing illness.

The class will meet on six Wednesdays

March 10, March 17, and March 24

April 7, April 14, and April 21

There will be no class on Wednesday, March 31

Classes will be held

10 a.m.-12 noon

at the Ralston House

3615 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Free parking is available.

Cost for participation is $120.

To register for the class, or if you have any questions,

please call 215-662-7810

or email Melissa Gartenberg Livney, Psy.D.
at Melissa.Livney@uphs.upenn.edu.

Read more about memory issues in Penn Memory Center's newsletter InSight, filled with human interest and features on people and efforts at the Penn Memory Center and beyond, that bring the knowledge we need about Alzheimer’s disease and healthy brain aging ever closer in sight. Read it online or subscribe to it and find articles such as An Interview With the Man Who Brought Alzheimer’s Disease to the Comic—Rex Morgan, M.D., Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia—What’s the Difference, and Why Alzheimer's Research Needs Cognitively Normal People.

Want even more information on Alzheimer's Disease? Go here to find a segment of Dr. Dan Gottlieb's WHYY Radio show Voices in the Family.  Click on red arrow and you can listen to this segment on Alzheimer's Disease.  WHYY also provides a link to Resources: Alzheimer's and Related Demenita.