Caregiving in Tampa Bay Area - How to Know What is Best?

Image of a body of water in Florida. Representing a place where you can get caregiver therapy in Tampa. You can also benefit from therapy for parents in Tampa, Florida.

By: Carrie Frey

Middle age is often a time when you are settled into your career, have a savings account you are investing in, and have children going off to college; but also aging parents. This means balancing work, children, your household, medical care, and other caregiver responsibilities. 

Making Decisions as A Caregiver

How do you find the best nursing home, rehab facility, or assisted living facility for your loved one? Or do you keep them at home with home health care? Or maybe a day program?  

Those are all such difficult decisions and unfortunately can come with a hefty price tag depending on needs and insurance coverage. This can cause feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed and of course anxious to make a good decision.

There are so many facilities in Tampa that it is hard to tour them all. There are many home health agencies and it is hard to know and trust which to use. 

Image of a person holding into their caregivers arm. Representing the importance of starting caregiver therapy in Tampa, FL so you know what is best. This also works for parenting counseling.

At WellMinded Counseling we have found that Florida Agency for Health Care Administration is a great resource. It is a place to start to find names of facilities in your area. They have a location and Facility Finder website. 

You can select Tampa, enter your zip code, and find a list of facilities in your area. This will tell you how many beds they have, what payment types they accept, and what services they offer. You can see past inspection reports including deficiencies & resolutions.  

Do research online - then select a few to visit.

Image of a walking path in Florida. Showing a place where you can get virtual caregiver therapy in Tampa, FL. Making it easier to get therapy for parents and caregivers in Tampa or anywhere in Florida.

As an experienced Tampa therapist who offers caregiver therapy, I suggest talking to the staff- aids, nurses, and admin. Ask about nursing care, and doctor visits, and look for the activities calendar or the coordinator. Look at those that live there - do they look well groomed and cared for? Is the food edible, is the food being eaten? Are the call lights on for long periods of time? If so, that may mean long waits to meet your loved ones’ needs. Does it smell clean? Are the fake plants dusty and gross? Are the games, books, and crafts new or old and unused?  

Once you have selected care and your loved one is settled- visit often, at varied days/times. Have a whiteboard or notebook to ask questions or reminders. Be friendly, but ask questions  - how is my loved one eating? Are there any new medical concerns, are they active - what do they need?

Get Support Through Caregiver Therapy in Tampa, FL.

Are you feeling stressed as you try to take on the role of caregiver for your loved ones? With guidance and support from Wellminded Counseling, you can learn to find balance again. Get started by following these steps:

  1. Contact our therapy office with any questions

  2. Meet with a caring Tampa therapist for a free consultation to get to know their style

  3. Start getting the help and support you need and find balance in your life!

OTHER Therapy SERVICES OFFERED AT WELLMINDED COUNSELING

Caregiver Therapy isn’t the only service we offer. Our experienced and caring therapists offer the following counseling services:

5 Benefits of Summer Counseling for Kids

By: Kate Daley

Summer can be the perfect time to get your child into therapy.

While there are benefits to counseling no matter the season, the summer could offer unique benefits to your child. Here are five benefits of summer counseling for kids.

Scheduling

We all know how busy the school year can be. Once the school day ends, there always seems to be a laundry list of commitments: piano lessons, soccer games, homework, packing lunches, getting dinner on the table, and making sure everyone, including you, gets to bed at a reasonable hour. While you might still be working your nine-to-five, your child no longer has school all day. This leaves a lot of room for flexibility and a new routine. Counseling is one of many options to fill that time when it may not have been as accessible during the school year.

Structure

With all this extra free time and a sudden lack of structure, your child may have difficulty adjusting. It is important to continue some sort of structure into the summer months to keep your child engaged, learning, and growing. Lack of responsibilities may lead to boredom which counseling can both help to prevent and address.

Preparing for School

Every year, your child is faced with a transition. Even if the transition from one grade level to another seems lowkey (i.e., the child remains in the same school versus transitioning to high school), there can still be quite a bit of anxiety present. Each year, children are expected to be more independent, organized, and accountable for themselves. There are often increased academic expectations and social dynamics with their peers. While parents and teachers can offer support, sometimes a child needs a little extra support. Counseling can be a great option to navigate these changes, pressures, and expectations.

Less Pressure

Speaking of pressure, kiddos have pressure coming at them from all directions: academically, athletically, socially, and emotionally, just to name a few. After a long day at school, counseling is likely the last thing a child wants to engage in and, as a counselor, I don’t blame them! School can be mentally and emotionally taxing and unpacking these experiences and emotions can be further overwhelming. Summer can be the perfect time because children often feel more refreshed and ready to engage in this kind of work.

Social Interaction

School is where kids spend seven or more hours of their day. It is therefore the primary place for social interaction and fostering relationships with their peers. When summer comes along, it isn’t uncommon for kids to struggle with isolation and loneliness without their built-in social environment. Therapy, even individual sessions, allows for social interaction beyond what they may get at home. Counseling can also help kids collect tools to increase their social interactions and foster healthy relationships with their peers in preparation for the next school year.

OTHER COUNSELING SERVICES OFFERED AT WELLMINDED COUNSELING

Therapy for depression isn’t the only service we offer. WellMinded Counseling offers the following counseling services:

Adjusting to Summer Schedules

By: Courtney Miller

As May turns into June school gradually turns into summer.

As everyone knows, summer can bring a lot of fun but is everyone always prepared for the stress and/or boredom that is often also brought along. One of the main importance is trying to have a basic plan (things can always change).

Working Up A Summer Routine

With children, it is important to have fun without having too many activities planned. Children just got out of school, so try to plan a good balance between good activities and healthy/fun downtime. It is also important to try as close as possible to keep anxiety as low as possible. One of the best ways to do this is to keep sleep and wake-up time as similar to school time as possible. Keeping this stability will introduce the children to stability which will keep them comfortable with sticking with plans.

Involve The Children

It has already been discussed how to try to schedule the activities around the children’s schedule, but it is also essential to try to involve them in their choices on what to do. It will help the children feel heard and often enjoy the activities. With this everyone will be able to lower the stress and boredom. Children will also feel heard, which during the school year, at least at school, they often feel unheard.

Plan A Mix Of Activities

No matter who decides the plans it is important to set up different sets to help please everyone, help with boredom, and help with exhaustion. A good example would be to try and mix structured and unstructured activities throughout the day. For children structured provides guidance and learning whereas unstructured provides more freedom.

*Structured-museum

*Unstructured swimming, park

Make Room For Downtime

Not only do children need to have time for “freedom” but they also need time to recharge. This can include:

*Reading

*Engaging in imaginative play

*puzzles

*watching movies

*calming corner

OTHER COUNSELING SERVICES OFFERED AT WELLMINDED COUNSELING

Therapy for depression isn’t the only service we offer. WellMinded Counseling offers the following counseling services:

Children’s Awareness Month

By: Kariana Jude

The month of June is not only PRIDE month but Children’s Awareness Month too! Children’s Awareness Month focuses on the joy of childhood and bringing awareness to bigger issues relating to children.

It is important to celebrate the good that children bring to the world, but it is important to focus on the hardships they can face and what we can do to help as well. Some of the hardships that can affect children can include but are not limited to poverty, abuse, neglect, and trauma. 

5 facts about hardships that children could face:

  1. At least 1 in 7 children have experienced child abuse or neglect in the past year. 

  2. In 2019, 1,840 children passed away from abuse and neglect in the United States alone. 

  3. Two-thirds of children reported at least one traumatic event by the age of 16.

  4. A traumatic event can lead to deficits in language development and abstract reasoning skills. 

  5. The United Nations estimates that 385 million children are living in extreme poverty. 

How can we help? 

There are so many different things that we can do to help our future generations! One thing we can do is to help empower the youth to be and learn about themselves. This can foster a healthy and supportive relationship with the child while letting them grow into themselves. Another way to help is by knowing local resources that can help and support children by building a community (schools, programs, clubs, etc.) Lastly, since children are the future, we can help foster and instill confidence, creativity, a support system and community, and positive self-esteem. 

How to participate in Children’s Awareness Month:

  1. Become an advocate for children 

  2. Donate to local or national causes to help children

  3. Volunteer in your community

  4. Educate yourself and others on Children’s Awareness Month

https://www.samhsa.gov/child-trauma/understanding-child-trauma

https://nationaltoday.com/childrens-awareness-month/#:~:text=Children's%20Awareness%20Month%20takes%20place,June'%20relates%20to%20'children%3F


OTHER COUNSELING SERVICES OFFERED AT WELLMINDED COUNSELING

Therapy for depression isn’t the only service we offer. WellMinded Counseling offers the following counseling services:

5 Covert Signs Someone Might Have an Eating Disorder

Refusal to Eat With Others/Making Excuses for Not Eating

One of the more noticeable symptoms of a restrictive eating disorder can be recognizing that a person isn’t eating as much as they should during normal meal times or making up excuses for why they can’t finish their meal. However, it’s not always that noticeable. When you’re beginning to suspect that a friend or loved one might have a restrictive eating disorder, notice how they engage with meal times and snacking.

“Body Checking”

Body Checking is “when a person seeks information about their shape, weight, or appearance”. Some of this is normal behavior and most people look at themselves and what they look like from time to time. Body Checking becomes a disordered behavior that might point to signs of a larger problem with an eating disorder when you begin to notice a person doing it much more frequently and obsessively.

Feeling Nervous About Not Exercising

Extreme obsession with whether they’ve gotten to the gym is another covert way that an eating disorder might be at play. If there’s general emotional distress around missing one day of working out — the compensatory behavior of an eating disorder, to control weight or shape by over-exercising might be another way this person is engaging in disordered behavior.

Wearing ClothingThat is Too Big/Doesn’t Fit

Sometimes people who are actively losing weight might try and hide this by hiding the true amount of how much weight they’ve been losing. Moreover, there’s also the element that people with an eating disorder may not really understand what their body size is. Additionally pointing to an eating disorder.

Not Being Hungry During the Day

Do you often notice that your friend is not eating during the day but notices their hunger cues at night? Restriction isn’t just something for a restrictive disorder. Those with Binge Eating Disorder often engages in restriction during the day which leads to binging at night.

OTHER COUNSELING SERVICES OFFERED AT WELLMINDED COUNSELING

Therapy for depression isn’t the only service we offer. WellMinded Counseling offers the following counseling services: