Calling all care partners! Join us as we learn with and from others this fall semester. The BC Brain Wellness Program will host expert speakers we have come to trust to support, educate and broaden the care partner's toolbox of coping strategies.

Care Partner Workshops

Transforming Carepartner Trauma - Emotional and Mental Plasticity
Monday, September 16th — 10:00-11:30AM

Instructor: Myriame Lépine Lyons
There’s no doubt that living with chronic health conditions causes significant stress for the diagnosed, but what about those caring for these folks? Care partners also experience their own stresses - often unique to the caregiving experience. Sometimes these stresses are so big they become traumatic. If you are a care partner (or care giver) to someone living with a chronic health condition, this workshop is for you. If you are feeling overwhelmed by all the changes happening in your life, we are here for you - you are not alone.

In this workshop we will be talking about stress and traumatic experiences: how to identify them in our own lives and how to (re)start finding a sense of calm and grounding through emotional and mental plasticity (and resilience). Community resources, like this workshop for care partners, are places to learn and feel connected to others who are in similar circumstances - we hope to see you there.

Rekindling & Reimagining Meaningful Ways of Hoping
Monday, October 7th — 10:00-11:30AM

Instructor: Lenora LeMay
Connect to and explore personally meaningful and relevant ways of relating, feeling, thinking and acting with hope. Lenora will share and create moments for us to reflect on what she is learning about hope and quality of life. In so doing, Lenora will also share specific hope focused practices and strategies that she first learned about while working with HOPE KIDS and those they supported in care centres at an internationally acclaimed applied research centre.

Let’s Get Creative: Balancing My Needs and Those of the One I Caregive
Friday, November 8th — 10:00-11:30AM

Instructor: Ahava Shira
As caregivers, we are told over and over how necessary it is for us to take care of ourselves. But how do we find the time when there are so many tasks on our-to-do lists? And so many of those tasks are ones we have never been responsible for, until now? And when we do manage to carve out the time, how do we get past the guilt, shame, fear or worry that we still aren’t doing enough? And then, how do we know what we need, and what will help us to get it?

In this webinar, Ahava will invite you to creatively explore your own answers to the questions, and even come up with some questions of your own in a safe and supportive space. Through exercises in writing and other artful expression, you will be guided to:

  • Express emotions you often deny or ignore.

  • Cultivate lovingkindness and self-compassion.

  • Bring calm to your mind and lightness into your heart.

  • Connect with yourself through the nourishment and joy of creative play.

The F-Words for Living: A New Framework for Wellness
Monday, December 2nd — 10:00-11:30AM

Instructor: Donna Thomson
The F-Words for Living are Function, Family, Fun, Fitness, Friends and Future. Developed from the International Classification of Function at the World Health Organization, the F Words represents a helpful framework for thinking about the essential areas of personal wellness and how to achieve goals that are meaningful. Each person in the family can help another reach his or her F-Word goals and the framework is so flexible and personal that it can be reworked for changing capacities or challenges.

“The 'F-words - functioning, family, fitness, friends, fun, and future - have brought this WHO framework to life. Originally created for children with 'disabilities', they are now widely used across the world and across all ages!” Dr. Peter Rosenbaum, Peter Rosenbaum, MD, FRCP(C), DSc (HC), FRCPI Hon (Paed) RCPI, McMaster University

In this interactive workshop, Donna Thomson will introduce the F-Words and explore how each domain can constitute an opportunity for choice, wellness and self-care. The F-Words is a framework that responds to the “givens” of peoples lives and the reciprocity to help each other achieve personal goals in families.

Partners Who Care: A Chance to Talk and Connect
Sept 23, Oct 21, Nov 18, Dec 9 — 10:00-11:30 AM

Instructor: Jean Ward
These sessions will revisit the care partner workshop content from the previous week and offer you an opportunity to bring to the group any thoughts or reactions.
All care partners are welcome to join regardless of workshop attendance. Come and connect with folks who get what you are going through. Feel free to bring your questions, your ideas, your feelings and your laughter.