Caregiver Support Program
Caregiving is physically, emotionally, socially, financially, and existentially challenging. The Caregiver Support Program in the Steven S. Elbaum Family Center for Caregiving was established to provide relief and support for the profound, unmet psychosocial needs of caregivers. We understand the many challenges of caring for patients living with chronic and life-limiting illnesses, disabilities, and mental health challenges. Staffed by clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and social workers, the Caregiver Support Program provides support, tools, and resources to caregivers of patients receiving care within the Mount Sinai Health System. Our mission is to assist them in providing the highest quality of care to patients while preserving their own well-being. Caregivers include parents, partners, children, siblings, friends, and chosen family of our patients.
We understand that it is often difficult for caregivers to ask for help, so our program has been established as a home for anyone who feels distressed as a result of their caregiving responsibilities. We provide counseling services, as well as access to resources, including educational materials, referrals to other services within Mount Sinai, and recommendations to external resources.
Our counseling services are offered to caregivers individually, in groups, and to families and couples as they navigate illness and caregiving. Caregivers gain tools to manage distress, to cope more effectively with the demands of caregiving, to improve their ability to communicate with patients and members of the health care team, and to balance caregiving with all other responsibilities. It can be challenging for caregivers to find time for their own care, so sessions are offered either in-person or virtually, based on caregivers’ preference. We do our best to offer sessions at times that work best for their schedule. All caregivers referred to us are asked to complete a brief phone evaluation to ensure that the services we offer are the right type of care for them. After the phone evaluation, caregivers may be referred for one to the following types of care.
Individual Sessions
Individual psychotherapy is the most common type of support provided in the Caregiver Support Program. The first session is an evaluation, where the caregiver and therapist co-create a treatment plan to comprehensively address the caregiver’s specific needs. This will include the goals of care, and the anticipated number and frequency of sessions. In some cases, the caregiver may only need several sessions to focus on a specific concern, such as how to communicate effectively with patients or members of the health care team. In other instances, a caregiver may engage in a longer course of care over several months to address distress and coping. For those caregivers who request or require medication management, we will help coordinate or provide referrals to psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners within the Mount Sinai Health System.
Our approach to care is caregiver-centered. We rely on evidence-based treatments—what has been proven to improve the lives of caregivers—such as cognitive behavioral therapy, and we draw from a variety of approaches to provide individualized, holistic support to best meet the specific needs of caregivers who seek support with us.
Most caregivers choose to receive care virtually, though we can accommodate sessions in-person for those who prefer to meet in person or for those with privacy, technology, or insurance-based challenges to engaging in telehealth.
Group Sessions
The Elbaum Center provides support groups for caregivers. Conducted through confidential telehealth platforms, these groups run for six sessions and the same group members will participate in each session. Groups follow a theme, either:
- Coping With Caregiving: This group is open to caregivers of patients with any illness, disability, or mental health challenge. It focuses on giving caregivers the skills and tools they need to navigate the challenges of caregiving while also attending to their own needs.
- Dementia Behavior Management: This group is specifically for caregivers of patients with any type of dementia or neurodegenerative disease. It focuses on giving caregivers the specific tools and support needed to provide care effectively for patients with dementia.
Family and Couples Therapy
Illness and caregiving affect the entire family. Our Caregiver Support Program recognizes that sessions that bring together caregivers, the patients for whom they provide care, and other family members can be beneficial. This is why we offer couples and family therapy sessions to help families cope more effectively together. Many caregivers find that couples/family therapy sessions can be beneficial to navigate a specific concern, such as engaging in a difficult but necessary discussion about advance care planning. During the initial phone evaluation, our staff will determine whether family and couples therapy should be initiated immediately, and if not, it can be integrated into the plan of care later.
Payment: All caregivers will register as patients within the Mount Sinai Health System, and we will bill the caregiver’s insurance to cover the cost of care.
For more information, contact us at caregivers@mssm.edu.