The last couple of years has brought many personal challenges to my door. Challenges which run in parallel to my professional life and those experienced by the older people and their families who reach out to me.

I have found myself supporting relatives of different generations within my family with now sustained and significant health concerns and, whilst I obviously have “all the tools in my bag” to navigate the system, it is of course so much harder to be objective when it’s personal.

Despite having over 25 years experience of providing independent care advice, the events of the last two years have served to re enforce my understanding of the acute levels of anxiety, stress and overwhelm people face when supporting a loved one in need of care.

The issues and concerns are of course so familiar to me but are varied, far reaching and bewildering to the uninitiated:

What care is required?
Where should it be provided?
Who has the right experience and training to provide the care?
What financial support is out there and when and how can it be accessed?
Who is the decision maker?
How do I manage family friction?

It is nothing short of strange for me to be asking these questions of myself. Yes I have the knowledge but it doesn’t make the emotional turmoil any easier.

If there is just one thing my clients can be absolutely certain of it is that I totally “get it” and have both the personal and professional experience to share which will undoubtedly benefit them. And what’s more they keep me grounded, pragmatic and calm !