Page 83 - Advanced Biblical Counseling Student Textbook

includes planning, preparation, and team meetings among the family members who are providing care.
Where will the loved one with dementia live? Does someone need to quit employment to provide care?
And so on.

Also, a biblical counselor would demonstrate love to the family by helping to ensure that the family’s
church provides emotional support and also meets physical needs. One physical need that a family will
have is time to take a break. Another need might be meals delivered to the home. Still, another is for
someone to fill in for the caregiver so that he or she may attend church.

The caregiver(s) too need personal biblical counseling as they consider their own heart and responses to
the trial of dementia. Emotions like anger, fear, and sadness are common. It’s important that the
church’s response is organized and methodical. Otherwise, the family may be forgotten and neglected.
One last note: the biblical approach recognizes that just because a family is willing to care for a loved
one with dementia, this doesn’t mean the family should. As a biblical counselor helps family members
work through these crucial questions, they may choose a suitable alternative. These might include adult
daycare, hiring in-home care, or even a nursing home – all of which are costly.

Caring for a loved one with dementia doesn’t have to be a negative experience, although there will be
negative experiences along the way. The Lord will enhance growth in Christlikeness as His children
glorify God in thought and deed.

Learning Not to Argue – Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cQ25iA9U68&t=185s

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