Clinical Topics & Methods Category

Supporting Clients As They Navigate the Caregiving Journey: Tools, Tips & Resources for Clinicians

3 CE Hours
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About the Course

Over 60 million people are living in the United States with a disability. For individuals with juvenile-onset conditions, as well as those with acquired disabilities across the lifespan family caregivers often provide some level of care and support. Recent reports estimate that over 53 million family caregivers provide care to a loved one (National Alliance for Caregiving, 2020). Due to increasing lifespans and other factors, the number of family caregivers is expected to increase. The recent pandemic has only exacerbated the challenges for care recipients and their family caregivers when considering the need for services, lack of providers, and service navigation challenges. In addition, compounding challenges and demands posed by the pandemic unveiled the complex realities associated with finding direct service providers and respite care for care recipients who are often at risk for being isolated and underserved. Family caregivers often face many challenges that may be compounding by their own aging, caring for multiple loved ones, and balancing their caregiving responsibilities with other roles (e.g., employment, family life). This training provides a current look a the state of family caregiving in the United States. An overview of the current realities of caregiving, caregiver outcomes, and policies and strategies to support caregivers will be discussed. Professionals working in all facets of health and human services will likely work with care recipients and caregivers in their career. This training will equip participants with the knowledge of trends and pragmatic strategies to support caregivers and care recipients in today's evolving world.

This course is based on the recorded webinar, Supporting Clients As They Navigate the Caregiving Journey: Tools, Tips & Resources for Clinicians created by Christina Marsack-Topolewski, Ph.D., LMSW in 2025.

Publication Details

Publication Date: First Sep 2025

Author

Christina Marsack-Topolewski, Ph.D., LMSW

Christina Marsack-Topolewski, LMSW, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Michigan and an Associate Professor of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University. Her educational backgrounds are in Special Education, Social Work, and Gerontology. She has 20 years of experience supporting individuals with disabilities and their family caregivers. Dr. Marsack-Topolewski has published over 90 scholarly articles and encyclopedia entries on disability, family caregiving, dementia, and aging. She is an appointed board member of the U.S. National Task Group (NTG) on Intellectual Disability and Dementia Practices. Her research has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and ABC News Detroit and she also has provided expert testimony advocating for legal provisions to protect vulnerable populations-- the first of these was signed into law in Michigan in 2023. In 2024, she received the Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Research Award for Research Excellence and the Arc of Oakland County’s Advocacy Hall of Fame Award.

Target Audience

This course is intended for Behavioral Health and Physical Health professionals, including psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage & family therapists, art therapists, dietitians, school psychologists, psychoanalysts, music therapists, behavior analysts, dietetic technicians, school counselors, teachers, addiction counselors, physicians, and nurses. It is appropriate for all levels of knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Describe the emotional, physical, financial, and social challenges commonly faced by family caregivers in the United States.
  2. 2 Summarize the short- and long-term consequences of caregiving on family caregivers, including stress, burnout, and health outcomes.
  3. 3 Identify the roles of formal and informal social support systems in assisting care recipients and family caregivers.
  4. 4 Identify innovative strategies that healthcare providers can use to support family caregivers.

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Material Authors

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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Module 1

Module 1
Paid material

  • Supporting Clients As They Navigate the Caregiving Journey: Tools, Tips & Resources for Clinicians Part 1

    Enroll and start the course to view these materials.

  • Presentation Slides
Module 2

Module 2
Paid material

  • Supporting Clients As They Navigate the Caregiving Journey: Tools, Tips & Resources for Clinicians Part 2

    Enroll and start the course to view these materials.

  • Presentation Slides

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