Workshop Bonuses
Cheatsheet & Bonuses
Planning for Caregiver Success Cheatsheet
Working w/ Your Doctor | Alzheimer’s in your Home
Word Searches from Adventures of a Caregiver
Dementia Caregiving Made Easier
This event was is entirely sponsored by our membership program, Dementia Caregiving Made Easier, where we do workshops like this every month, offer weekly training tailored to your situation, have small support groups you can choose to join of 5-10 people each (with weekly or bi-weekly meetings), and have a private Facebook group where you can have direct access to Krista.
The membership is closing on 9/24 until later next year so we can focus on taking care of our members.
Dementia Caregiving Made Easier
A monthly membership that gives you the knowledge, activities, tools & community you need to make challenging behaviors easier, so you can spend more time on what matters and never feel alone again.
Membership is closing on Tuesday night (9/24)
Facebook Live Member Shares
Pam’s Share about Mom’s Refusing
Vikki’s Boyfriend Always “Wanted to Go Home”…
Membership is closing on Tuesday night (9/24)
Discover How To Handle Challenging Dementia Behaviors With Half The Effort.
-
If you’re like most dementia caregivers, you feel overwhelmed and alone when researching how to care for your loved one with dementia.
You’ve seen a lot of stuff that could help you, but you don’t know the exact steps to take and what would make dementia and the challenging behaviors it comes with easier to manage.
-
What you need are the tools, community support and real world help from a professional who’s got your back.
That’s why I created a membership subscription service called “Dementia Caregiving Made Easier.”
-
An easy to follow, step-by-step guided path to handling challenging dementia behaviors with half the effort.
As a result of mastering challenging behaviors, you will save yourself a ton of time and energy so you can experience relief, freedom, and ease.
What You Get in the Membership
Weekly Videos
Every week we have a short video on how to resolve common challenging behaviors (teaching you techniques, activities, and other solutions.)
Guides & Tools
Get guides, cheat sheets, activity ideas, shopping lists & checklists so you can manage challenging behaviors easier.
Small Groups
Optionally, be a part of an intimate group of professional, at home & distance caregivers that meet weekly for ideas & support (VIP Only.)
Workshops + Q&As
Every month we go live on Zoom to have a private Workshop or a private Q&A session where your questions get answered by guest experts.
Will It Work For You?
Customize Your Membership To Meet Your Specific Needs!
You get to customize your membership by choosing the weekly videos and tools you receive to meet your immediate needs as a caregiver.
Step 1:
When you first log in to your membership area, you’ll be given a quick assessment that will recommend a custom membership experience for you.
Step 2:
You’ll choose your own custom membership experience - and you get to choose whatever you want (you don’t have to follow the recommendation.)
You’ll get to the following options…
Option 1: Building Skills
If you choose Building Skills, you’ll get:
a) 4 challenging behaviors most relevant to you. Over the first 4 months you’ll master these behaviors.
b) Monthly workshop & Expert Q&A
c) After those first 4 months, we’ll move on to the next 4 challenging behaviors most relevant to you (and so on until you’re a master at caregiving.)
Option 2: Building a Support Structure
If you choose Building Support, your first 4 months will involve a mix of training including:
a) Training on ways to prevent behaviors from happening in the first place and how to get help from your community and others in your life.
b) Help with the 2 challenging behaviors most relevant to you (and share your progress with your group.)
c) After those first 4 months, we’ll move on to the next 4 challenging behaviors most relevant to you (and so on until you’re a master at caregiving.)
Step 3:
You get to choose which behaviors you want help with, so you can start out by learning how to deal with the challenging behaviors you are facing.
Option 1 - Aggressive and Delusional Behaviors:
Are you dealing with aggressive and delusional behaviors like:
Anger
Delusions
Accusations
Hallucinations
Option 2 - Confused and Difficult Behaviors:
Are you dealing with confused and difficult behaviors like:
Repeating
Being inappropriate
Obsessing & hoarding
Apathy and withdrawal
In addition to choosing which set of behaviors most applies to you, you’ll also get help with the 4 most common challenging behaviors, including:
Refusal
“I Want to Go Home”
Sundowning
Wandering
Membership is closing on Tuesday night (9/24)
What the Members are Saying:
“The membership & especially the workshops, have helped me get prepared for what is & what could happen with my husband. Things are a lot more peaceful with him now that I know what to say.”
— Tamyra R. Home Caregiver
“The guides & activities have been the best. I have printed out all of the tools and I used [an activity] with my client. She was so happy and I feel like I now know so many more ways I can be better in my career as a caregiver.”
— Marian O. Professional Caregiver
“The best part of the membership in my opinion is the small groups. Being in the small groups has allowed me to intimately know my client’s experience and be able to have more insight in how I can help them in my practice.”
— Deborah K, Family Physician
“The knowledge I’m gaining from the membership and especially the videos are so valuable. I now feel like I have the tools to connect with Mom even at a distance & make sure her team is taking care of her like family.”
— Anne M. Distance Caregiver
Here’s a little bit of what you’ll get out of your membership…
Frequently Asked Questions
+ My time is so limited and I'm emotionally exhausted, should I really join?
I hear you - even professionals get extreme burnout. Dementia is like that.
That's why we made this membership - so you do less work with more impact. It's to make it so you get more self care and learn how to deal with challenging behaviors in a way that restores your connection with your loved one or patients and allows you to relax again.
This membership was built for people like YOU! When you discover the blind spots in your reactions that cause caregiving to be harder than you realized.. when you learn all the tricks to prevent and stop challenging behaviors... I PROMISE you'll be less emotionally exhausted and you'll find that you get back a ton of time.
Whether it looks like nasty behaviors that turn into your person with dementia helping YOU with the chores, or the phrase "I want to go home" turning into "Thank you so much, dear!" I want to show you how to make your life easier and I want you to get the relief you deserve.
+ I am on disability myself and financially things are tight right now, do you have an option for me to join?
Yes, definitely!
First of all, this is our whole reason for coming out with a program that costs less than your typical internet bill - getting this kind of help is something you deserve, and courses that cover what we teach typically go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
The cost of placing your loved one sooner than you have to, even if you're not paying for their care, can easily far outweigh the financial benefits of a program like this, espeically if it helps you navigate the medical system with advice from our expert Q&As and your peers in your small group.
That said, if you're completely strapped for cash and there's no way you can afford it, if you have an extra hour or two a week and want to be a contribution to others, we are looking for some volunteers to help our community. If you're interested in helping us manage the small groups (6-8 peer groups our members meet up with weekly or bi-weekly), and you'd like to work with Krista directly 1-2 hours per week, we'll give you a free VIP spot in our membership as long as we still have some spots to fill. Just reply to any of Krista's emails letting her know your interested in this.
+ Is This Membership for Me?
The membership is for you if you are:
a) A Home Caregiver- you take care of your loved one at home
b) Distance Caregiver- your loved one don't live with you or they are in long term care
c) Professional Caregiver-you work with demenria patients directly or coach caregivers
If you identify with any of these roles, watch some of our member's story by clicking here to get a better idea of what you'd get out of the membership.
+ Who Runs the Membership?
My name is Krista Mesenbrink,CDP, AT, MT-BC. I have worked with thousands of dementia patients as an Activity Therapist at a psychiatric hospital for geriatric folks that only takes patients with extreme behaviors.
In addition to my work, I am a Certified Dementia Practitioner and have a certification in Person Centered Care from the Alzheimer's Association.
+ Is it worth joining if I'm already in a support group?
If you can benefit from learning how to master challenging behaviors, than yes. We setup the ability for you to customize your membership to focus on building your skills, which is what we'd recommend you do if this is your situation.
+ Is this membership for me if I'm a professional?
Yes! We have had doctors, coaches, therapists, activity professionals go through our membership. The membership gives you a more practical view on what to say and do with challenging dementia behaviors that you wouldn't get in formal education.
+ What if I fall behind or can't keep up with the material?
If you do fall behind, that's no problem - the membership was created with the expectation that you would fall behind at times or go at your own pace.
+ What is the difference between the membership content and free content?
The membership only gives you what you need at a pace that is sustainable and teaches you exactly what you need to become an expert at handling challenging behaviors. The membership teaches you systems and strategies that will save you a ton of time.
While there are a lot of free resources out there, it is easy to get overwhelmed and confused. The membership gives you a personalized plan that has the ability to change with you as your situation changes.
+ What Topics Does the Membership Cover?
Just some of the topics covered include:
Intro to Challenging Behaviors
Getting to Know Online Caregivers/Professionals
Friends/Family/Coworkers
Triggers in the Home/Workplace
Activities That Work for your LOWD/Client
Create an Activity Calendar
Create a Self-care schedule
Sharing Your Story/Mentoring
Master Challenging Behaviors, including a deep dive into:
- Sundowning
- Accusations
- "I Want to Go Home"
- Delusions
- Refusals
- Repeating
- Obsession
- Apathy
- Anger
- Inappropriate Behaviors
- Wandering
- Mood Swings
+ What Does the Membership Not Include?
The membership aims to teach and support you in learning how to better communicate and engage your LOWD/client with managing challenging dementia behaviors.
The membership does not focus on the following information:
Financial planning
Long term care placement advice
Medication advice
Specific dietary advice
Hands-on activities of daily living advice (however, we will teach you communication around ADLs)
How to navigate the healthcare system
However, we do have guest expert Q&A sessions in the membership where we interviewed guest experts on all of these topics, and those interviews will be available to you immediately upon joining.
+ Weekly Videos
Video topics are organized in according to your custom needs, so you get the information you need immediately. You will get a 5-10 minute video every week.
Topics of the videos range from educating on challenging behaviors to tutorials on how to use the tools.
Some videos are more important to watch than others, so if you fall behind, the membership is set up to where it is easy to get back on track.
+ Tools
You are given either a new tool, asked to use a previously given tool each week.
Tools are the following:
a) Guides/Workbooks- These are longer form and explain more of whatever topic we are learning
b) Cheatsheets- This is usually a one page reference that you can scan and get quick information
c) Checklist- A tool to help you keep track of tasks that help you make cargiving easier
c) Activity Ideas List- a list of ideas compatible with common challenging behaviors
d) Activity Quiz- a quiz to guide you on narrowing down the activity idea list to work for your LOWD/client
e) Shopping List- list of items you can buy to make caregiving easier
+ Small Groups
If you sign up for a VIP membership, you'll have the option to join a small group of your peers and small groups get together on a regular basis. You will have a group leader and about 4-8 other caregivers.
You'll get to choose which group you join based on what group meetup time best fits your schedule (both the time and the frequency.) If there isn't a group available that meets your needs, we will help you start one, get others to join you, and give you your own Zoom room. If you choose to start your own group you get to set the schedule, rules, and have final say over who is in your group.
The members of your group are made up of home, distance and professional caregivers. Unlike support groups, small groups are unqiue in that you come together to problem solve vs only give support.
Being in a small group will give you:
More direct support associated with a weekly or monthly objectives.
A smaller group in the community knowing your situation in case you ever need help and that can keep you accountable to meeting your goals.
Get personal advice and tips from other caregivers directly.
Brainstorm ideas and get feedback from other caregivers.
There is no better opportunity to gain personal connections with other caregivers like you in a safe and caring environment.
You’ll finally have people who understand you to bounce your ideas off of, get advice from, and just be able to talk to when the going gets tough, because we’re all in this together.
With personal groups, you won’t have to feel alone ever again.
+ Workshops
Workshops are done on a either the topic of the month or a pressing topic that members are requesting.
This hands on presentation will help you learn more about a challenging behavior and get some practice with engaging and deescelading.
Every month we will either have a workshop or a Q&A session with a guest expert (we've had neurologists, psychiatrists, elder attorneys, nutritionists, social workers, and more.)
+ Q&A's
When I was first starting out as a caregiver, one of the single most important things I did was learn from the experienced professionals that were already having the kind of success that I wanted.
Sure… I learned a lot through the normal trainings and researching online… but my biggest breakthroughs came from learning and observing caregivers who were “the best”… and finding out just what exactly they did that made their work seem so easy and natural.
Surprisingly, many of the caregivers I found to be the very best weren’t the particularly patient “saints” you’d expect them to be, but people like all of us who have good and bad days, just better systems in place.
I believe that if these caregivers could be amazing with the patients, then so could I… if I knew the secrets. And it turned out I was right.
Learning from other caregivers is vitally important… I can’t tell you how many YEARS of time and effort this cut off of my learning curve… or even if I would have EVER achieved the skills I have with dementia patients without taking this vital step
Because this is so important, I’ve begun tracking down as many of these masters as I can to get them to “spill their guts” for the benefit of caregivers and their loved ones alike.
This is especially important to prepare for the road ahead when it comes to things like finances, medications, how dementia changes with time, government support, eating habits and more. That's why I bring on a lot of guest experts on who specialize in these areas, including neurologists, psychiatrists, elder attorneys, nutritionists, social workers, and more.
No matter what curveballs dementia throws your way, in the members area there is a long-form Q&A with an expert to give you the confidence you need to move forward.
Membership is closing on Tuesday night (9/24)
Member’s Success Stories
Tamyra’s Story
Tamyra is an at home caregiver to her husband. She describes her transformation of feeling alone and unprepared to knowing what to say to keep things more calm. She also describes being a small group leader and her membership experience.
Deb’s Story
Deb is a family physician by training & works primarily with dementia patients & their families. Deb describes the deeper relationship she has built with caregivers in the small groups and how the membership benefits her as a professional.
Anne’s Story
Anne is a distance caregiver for her Mom. Despite the distance, Anne is a very involved caregiver and joined the membership to make the most of her facetime, phone calls and visits, be able to advocate and teach her mom's team.
Marian’s Story
Marian is a professional in home caregiver with Seniors Helping Seniors. She joined the membership to get a community of other dementia caregivers (her coworkers don't care for dementia clients) and to get more practical knowledge.
Membership is closing on Tuesday night (9/24)
You’ll Also Get 4 Additional Bonuses
Bonus 1:
*Note that additional workshops and Q&A sessions are available since the filming of the above video.
In these workshops you’ll learn:
How to talk to your senior in way that gets them to listen and respond positively (most caregivers do the exact opposite, and avoiding these mistakes will save you a TON of time and frustration.)
What to do if your senior has anger outbursts that will calm them down and make sure everyone stays safe.
How to stop specific challenging behaviors with whole workshops that are dedicated to a single behavior like “I Want To Go Home”, Refusals, Anger / Accusations, Delusions, Inappropriate behaviors, Apathy & Withdrawal, and Sundowning.
How to get your person clean, especially if they refuse to take a shower or tell you “I already showered.”
The best tips, tricks, and techniques professional caregivers use to make caregiving seem more natural and easy (this includes some of my favorite secrets you need to know!)
What you NEED to know about what comes next in your caregiving journey, including the different stages of dementia and the changes to expect, and how to plan for longer term help and care.
Together, these 20 workshops are valued at $480 - but you get all of them included free of charge for signing up today.
Bonus 2:
8+ Question & Answers Sessions with Guest Experts to Guide You
In these sessions, you’ll learn burning questions you have (or might have in the future) about medications, diet, occupational therapy & safety equipment, estate planning, government support and programs (like medicare and medicaid), what’s going on in their brain and what helps (from the perspective of neurologists), and with regards to what financial support is available to you.
The Q&A sessions you’ll get immediate access to are:
Holistic Solutions for Demenia - with Drs. Dean and Ayesha Sherzai, award winning neurologists and authors of "The Alzheimer's Solution" as well as codirectors of the Brain Health and Alzheimer's Prevention Program at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
Medication Questions Answered - with Dr. Turner, D.O. , a geriatric psyciatrist and medical director.
Estate Planning & Asset Protection - with Nancy D. Mendez Law P.C., an estate planning attorney.
Social Worker Questions & Answers - with Kristian Ghazal, MSW
Burning Food Questions Answered - with Molly Robinson, RD, a registered dietitian in dementia nutrition.
How Dementia Affects The Brain - with Dr. Edwin Serrano, MD, a neurologist.
Safety Equipment - with Lindsay DeLong, OT
Medicaid Questions Answered - with Nadine Graham, LCSW
And more! You’ll have access to our full collection inside the member’s area, including our Q&As with Teepa Snow, a RN, a seniors certified real estate expert (SRES), and others.
When I was first starting out as a caregiver, one of the single most important things I did was learn from the experienced professionals that were already having the kind of success that I wanted.
Sure… I learned a lot through the normal trainings and researching online… but my biggest breakthroughs came from learning from the professionals… and finding out just what exactly they did that made their work seem so easy and natural.
Learning from other caregivers is vitally important… I can’t tell you how many YEARS of time and effort this cut off of my learning curve… or even if I would have EVER achieved the skills I have with dementia patients without taking this vital step.
In these Q&A’s, you’ll learn what to expect down the road and be prepared for it. And you’ll learn from some of the best in the industry on how they think about dementia.
Together, these Q&A sessions are valued at $160 - but you get all of them included free of charge for signing up today.
Bonus 3:
Bonus 4:
Bi-Monthly 1-on-1 Coaching Sessions With Krista (VIP Only)
If you decide to sign up for the VIP tier, you get a free coaching sessions with me once every other month, 1 hour each, to walk you through whatever you’re dealing with.
During these sessions we’ll put together a personalized plan to transform your experience as a caregiver.
We can talk by phone or over Zoom - whatever you prefer.
To get the free sessions, sign up for a VIP subscription now and then simply send me an email or submit a ticket (inside the members area) that says “Coaching Session” in the subject line and I’ll reach out to you within 24-48 hours to set it up.
I normally charge $150 for these sessions - but you get 6 included free each year ($900/year value) for signing up with a VIP subscription today.
Total Bonuses Included Free:
20 Dementia Caregiving Made Easier Workshops - $480 value
8+ Expert Question & Answers Sessions - $160 value
Activities Guide E-Book - $47 value
Free bi-monthly 1-on-1 Coaching Sessions (VIP Only) - $900 value per year
Total BONUS Value for Regular Membership: $687
Total BONUS Value for VIP: $1,587 (in first year)
The Membership is Closing Soon!
Choose the plan that’s right for you
Payment Options:
$27 a month with a minimum three month commitment*
(Save 20%)
*You are charged $27 a month, not one lump sum. The subscription will continue at $27 after 3 months unless you cancel.
$34 a month for no minimum commitment
Annual Subscription - $245 billed once a year**
(Save 40%)
**Purchase with confidence - this option comes with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Payment Options:
$39 a month with a minimum three month commitment*
(Save 20%)
*You are charged $39 a month, not one lump sum. The subscription will continue at $39 after 3 months unless you cancel.
$49 billed a month for no minimum commitment
Annual Subscription - $345 billed once a year**
(Save 40%)
**Purchase with confidence - this option comes with a 30 Day Money Back Guarantee