Caregiver Support through Therapy

Caregiver Support through Therapy
Naples Daily News

Offering support for caregivers

Margot Escott was profiled in the Naples Daily News in Florida about the importance of offering a support system for people who take care of loved ones. The newspaper reported that Escott and her husband took care of her father when he was suffering from the effects of Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

“If I didn’t have the skills of a social worker, I couldn’t have done that, and I think the average person doesn’t have all those skills,” says Margot.

After her father’s death, Escott came to lead the free Naples-based Peer Counseling Program, which is offered by the Mental Health Association of Southwest Florida. “It offers a place for unpaid caregivers to pull themselves out of this role for an hour a week and touch base with a volunteer counselor in person or over the phone,” the article stated. “The counselors can’t provide respite, but they can help a caregiver find a local organization that does.”