Resolving Family Disputes Over Senior Care With Elder Mediation
Sibling relationships can thrive when elder mediation is used to address caregiving disagreements.
When it comes to working together to make sure the care needs of your older parents are met, even the closest brothers and sisters may find themselves in conflict. Stress levels and emotions are, naturally, running high. Couple that with your past family history and dynamics, which tend to resurface during challenging times, and it’s easy to see how problematic this phase in life can be for each of you.
The most widespread areas of controversy among siblings include financial decisions, different opinions on medical treatments or living arrangements, and an unfair balance of tasks pertaining to caregiving, just to mention a few.
In some cases, regardless of how hard you try, you and your brothers and sisters may be unable to come to an understanding on precisely how to best care for your aging parents. An impasse similar to this is quite common, often resulting from complex family dynamics and unresolved disagreements. However, there’s a solution many families are not aware of that can be extremely beneficial: enlisting the help of elder mediation.
What Is Elder Mediation?
A professional skilled in resolving conflicts, an elder mediator brings an independent, third-party voice to family meetings. They can help defuse elevated emotions and outbursts and guide the discussion in a way that leads to an outcome that all parties can accept.
Elder mediator Susanne Terry explains, “Most of the time siblings want what’s best for the parents. They just look at it in a different way. Our goal is to help them figure out what their common interests are, so they can work together to find solutions.”
Unlike family therapy, which helps families work through struggles little by little over a long period of time, elder mediation is a targeted, compacted strategy that commonly results in an agreeable end result in only a couple of sessions.
Elder mediators give siblings the opportunity to both offer input and listen respectfully to one another. The objective is not only to try to find the very best outcome for the elderly parents, but to help the rest of the family retain healthy relationships with one another in the process.
When exploring elder mediation solutions, there are several questions you should ask:
- Are you a member of the Academy of Professional Family Mediators (APFM) or other professional associations?
- What is your education, training, and background?
- What amount of experience do you have in our particular situation?
- What are your fees?
To locate an elder mediator in your area, visit APFM’s mediator directory. Once you and your siblings make a decision on the best path forward in caring for your parents, give Harmony Home Health and Hospice, the leading home health care company in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Albuquerque, and throughout Central New Mexico and Northern Utah a call. We will be happy to discuss how we can help ensure all their care needs are met. You can reach us any time at 1-877-I-NEED-CARE (1-877-463-3322).
