Caregiver
Resource Library
Knowledge is one of the most powerful tools in a caregiver's arsenal. Our clinical and program teams have curated an extensive collection of evidence-based guides, practical toolkits, and trusted external resources organized by the challenges caregivers face most frequently. All resources are free to access and download.
Burnout Prevention & Emotional Resilience
Caregiver burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that occurs when caregivers don't get the help they need or try to do more than they are physically or financially able. Understanding the warning signs and implementing preventive strategies is essential for sustaining your caregiving capacity over the long term.
Recognizing the 12 Warning Signs of Caregiver Burnout
A comprehensive guide identifying the progressive stages of burnout from early fatigue and irritability through chronic exhaustion, depersonalization, and complete emotional withdrawal. Includes self-monitoring checklists and intervention triggers for each stage.
Guide • 12 pagesThe Compassion Fatigue Workbook for Family Caregivers
Originally developed for healthcare professionals, this adapted workbook helps family caregivers understand the neurological basis of empathy fatigue and practice evidence-based restoration techniques including mindful self-compassion exercises and structured emotional processing.
Workbook • 24 pagesBoundary Setting Without Guilt: A Caregiver's Guide
Practical scripts and frameworks for establishing healthy limits with care recipients, other family members, medical providers, and yourself. Addresses the guilt cycle that prevents caregivers from advocating for their own needs and provides cognitive restructuring techniques.
Guide • 8 pagesLegal & Financial Planning
Caregiving often involves complex legal and financial decisions, from establishing power of attorney to navigating Medicaid eligibility. These resources, developed in partnership with elder law attorneys and certified financial planners in the Portland metro area, provide Oregon-specific guidance.
Oregon Advance Directive & POLST Completion Guide
Step-by-step instructions for completing Oregon's Advance Directive form and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST). Includes guidance on having difficult conversations about end-of-life wishes with care recipients and family members.
Legal Guide • 16 pagesMedicaid K-Plan & Community First Choice Explained
Demystifies Oregon's Medicaid K-Plan (home and community-based services waiver) and the federal Community First Choice option. Covers income and asset eligibility thresholds, the application timeline, how functional needs assessments work, and tips for a successful determination.
Benefits Guide • 10 pagesProtecting Caregiver Finances: Asset Planning Basics
Many caregivers deplete their own savings supporting a family member's care needs. This guide covers Medicaid spend-down strategies, spousal impoverishment protections, ABLE accounts for disabled dependents, caregiver tax deductions, and when to consult an elder law attorney.
Financial Guide • 14 pagesNutrition, Exercise & Sleep Hygiene
The physical demands of caregiving combined with chronic stress create a perfect storm for inflammation, weight changes, immune suppression, and musculoskeletal injuries. These resources provide realistic, evidence-based strategies designed specifically for people who have very little time or energy to spare.
15-Minute Meals for Exhausted Caregivers
A practical cookbook of 30 anti-inflammatory recipes that require no more than 15 minutes of active preparation. Focuses on batch-friendly meals, freezer-safe portions, and nutrient-dense ingredients that support immune function, reduce cortisol, and stabilize blood sugar during high-stress periods.
Sleep Restoration Protocol for Disrupted Schedules
Adapted CBT-I (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia) techniques specifically modified for caregivers who must remain alert at night. Covers strategic napping windows, stimulus control when your bedroom is also a care space, and supplements with clinical evidence for sleep onset latency.
Micro-Movement Protocols: Exercise in Stolen Moments
You don't need a gym membership or 45 free minutes. This guide introduces evidence-based micro-movement protocols (2 to 10 minutes each) targeting the muscle groups most affected by caregiving: lower back, shoulders, hips, and core stabilizers. Designed to be done during medication wait times, in hospital waiting rooms, or while a care recipient naps.
Safe Lifting & Transfer Techniques Illustrated Guide
Developed by licensed physical therapists, this illustrated reference covers gait belt use, bed-to-wheelchair transfers, stand-pivot techniques, and mechanical lift operation. Preventing caregiver back injuries is critical, as musculoskeletal damage is the leading cause of caregiver disability and premature care breakdown.
Dementia & Memory Care Resources
Caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia presents unique and progressive challenges that evolve as the disease advances. These resources address the specific behavioral, safety, and emotional complexities that dementia caregivers face.
Understanding Sundowning: Causes & Calming Strategies
Explains the neurological basis of late-afternoon agitation and confusion in dementia, with over 20 evidence-based environmental and behavioral strategies for reducing sundowning episodes including lighting modifications, activity scheduling, and music therapy.
Home Safety Checklist for Dementia Care
A room-by-room safety audit covering wandering prevention (door alarms, GPS trackers, ID bracelets), fall hazard elimination, kitchen safety modifications, bathroom grab bar placement, medication security, and car key management as driving cessation becomes necessary.
When Is It Time for Memory Care? A Decision Framework
A compassionate, structured decision guide for families weighing the transition from home care to a memory care facility. Covers objective safety indicators, quality-of-life metrics, financial considerations, and how to manage the guilt and grief that accompany this profound decision.
Grief, Loss & Bereavement
Grief in caregiving is not limited to death. Caregivers experience ambiguous loss as they witness the gradual disappearance of the person they knew, anticipatory grief as they prepare for what lies ahead, and complex bereavement when caregiving ends and their identity and daily structure vanish simultaneously.
Living with Ambiguous Loss
Based on the groundbreaking work of Dr. Pauline Boss, this resource helps caregivers name and process the unique grief of losing someone who is still physically present. Particularly relevant for dementia caregivers, traumatic brain injury families, and those caring for individuals with severe mental illness.
After Caregiving Ends: Rebuilding Your Identity
When a caregiving chapter closes, whether through death, facility placement, or recovery, many caregivers experience a profound identity vacuum. This guide addresses post-caregiving depression, rediscovering personal interests, rebuilding social connections, and finding meaning in the caregiving experience.
External Resources & Organizations
These national and Oregon-specific organizations provide additional support, benefits navigation, and educational resources for family caregivers.
AARP Family Caregiving
Comprehensive national resource hub with state-specific benefit guides, caregiving checklists, legal document templates, and a 24/7 caregiver helpline.
Oregon DHS Aging & People with Disabilities
State agency administering Oregon Medicaid K-Plan, Oregon Project Independence, and Older Americans Act Title III-E National Family Caregiver Support Program funding.
Alzheimer's Association — Oregon Chapter
24/7 helpline, local support groups, care consultation, education programs, and advocacy for dementia caregivers throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.
National Alliance for Caregiving
Research-focused national organization producing the definitive Caregiving in the U.S. study and advocating for federal caregiver support legislation.
Multnomah County Area Agency on Aging
Local agency providing aging and disability resource connections, benefits counseling, elder abuse reporting, and in-home services coordination for Portland metro families.
VA Caregiver Support Program
Federal program offering stipends, respite care, counseling, and training for caregivers of eligible veterans through the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers.