Stephanie Erickson is a clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience as a geriatric social worker. Her primary area of practice focuses on Dementia and decision-making capacity. She works with seniors living autonomously, in care facilities, in acute care at the hospital, and who are living with family. Stephanie also provides training and consultation to families, the Alzheimer’s…
Stephanie Erickson is a clinical social worker with over 20 years of experience as a geriatric social worker. Her primary area of practice focuses on Dementia and decision-making capacity. She works with seniors living autonomously, in care facilities, in acute care at the hospital, and who are living with family. Stephanie also provides training and consultation to families, the Alzheimer’s Society, community groups, financial and legal institutions and at professional conferences. She hosts her own weekly podcast called Caregivers’ Circle. She founded Erickson Resource Group which offers holistic services to seniors and their families. Check out her free guide to initiating conversations with aging relatives.
Articles by Stephanie Erickson
Article: Well-being
4 Steps to Success
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
There are many moments in each day when many of us question what we’re doing. Am I a good caregiver to my mom? Do I give my dad the best of myself as his caregiver? Am I really a good mother? A good father? A good wife or husband? Am I a good employee doing what I can to move up the corporate ladder?…
Article: Mental Health
Understanding and destigmatizing mental illness
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
You arrive at work on a Thursday morning as usual to find your colleagues standing around talking. When you approach and ask what’s going on you are shocked to learn that your supervisor has just asked to take an extended leave. He was diagnosed with Stage 3 lung cancer. You and your colleagues commiserate…
Article: Wellness
Staying Balanced When Life Gets in the Way
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
The alarm goes off at 6 am. The last thing I want to do is get out of bed, but duty calls. Breakfast for the kids, finalize lunch boxes, school drop off, rushing to a work appointment, swinging by the grocery store on my way back to the office, finish the report my boss asked for two days ago, shove…
Article: Mental Health
Making Your Best Life
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
I’m from California and when I first moved to Montreal, my husband and I had a deal that we would return to my hometown after 10 years. Well, I’ve been here for thirteen and a half years and there are no signs of returning. Truthfully, between years nine and 12, I was angry and bitter that our…
Article: Caregiving
Technology and Aging
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
How many times a day do you observe someone on their cell phone, scrolling through emails or setting a date in their calendar? Or how about taking a picture, asking Siri a question, or looking for directions? Have you ever seen a couple or family in a restaurant not talking to each other and focused…
Article: Family
How real conversations lead to real relationships
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
Why is it that with some people, I can have these meaningful conversations in which I feel like a good connection and understanding is made and then just days later, it’s as if it never happened? I experience this at times with my husband and it tends to revolve around minor things, but I have to…
Article: Advice
Tips on Making Your Legacy Count
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
I’ve heard about teachers who ask their students to write their own obituary. It sounds kind of morbid, but when you think about it, it’s a great exercise of life reflection, goal achievement, identifying priorities and thinking about our legacy. I’m not sure how many teenagers can really think…
Article: Your Health
How to Use your Mind to Improve your Health
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
My personal passion is the flying trapeze. Yes, like in the circus. I jump from a platform, swing through the air, only to let go and be caught by the catcher and then launched back to catch that same bar and swing up to the platform again. My family—even my kids—think I'm crazy, but my contemporaries…
Article: Caregiving
The Key to Conflict Resolution
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
My friend told me a story about how, during one evening’s bedtime rituals with her kids, she completely lost it when her son wouldn’t brush his teeth. She grabbed the toothpaste tube and angrily squirted its entire contents on his toothbrush and all over the floor. I reassured her that this was…
Article: Advice
Building an Effective Partnership
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
How many times have you walked out of your doctor’s office only to remember the 5 questions you forgot to ask? Or as you're driving home you’re saying to yourself, “Wait. I don’t want to take that new medication". Or, "Wait! I’m not happy with where my treatment is going". Or, "Wait! Why didn’t…
Article: Advice
The Power of Words
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
Dr. Al Etmanski writes “Words matter. They transform both speaker and hearer. When we are angry or hurt, when we feel ignored or misunderstood, our words can amplify our deepest insecurities and perpetuate mutual misunderstanding.” The language we use is the platform on which many of our thought…
Article: Caregiving
How to Make Sense of Healthcare Terminology
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
Care coordination. Continuity of care. Team planning. Care manager. Or how about cognitive capacity, disorientation, palliative, terminal, agitated, delirious, Demented…..AHH! There are so many terms that health care professionals toss around casually that families and patients often struggle to follow…
Article: Caregiving
Meditations for Caregivers
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
It’s very difficult to keep a balanced perspective on life when you feel like you are sinking. I personally have tried to look at the big picture to stay calm and focused but often get overwhelmed with the little details and feel trapped in my situation. Many of us tell ourselves that we will start…
Article: Family
Shared Decision Making
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
But it’s my decision! I’m the one who’s been taking care of him! What gives you the right to make a decision for me? These are not uncommon statements made by families experiencing medical and health crises. And what about the health care professionals caught in these family disputes—how do…
Article: Body
Alternative ways to manage chronic pain holistically – Part 2
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
As I get older, I often hear myself making interesting and new sounds as I stand up, sit down, and roll over in bed – the creaks and pops are predictable music in my home. Many individuals experience these chronic and on-going physical annoyances but are able to function without too many limitations. …
Article: Well-being
How to achieve emotional wellness
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
When people ask me how I am, I’m not sure what they mean. Are they just following social norms and niceties or are they really asking me about my overall well-being? I think it's a social reflex; I definitely don’t think they want to know about my emotional state. But what does this really mean,…
Article: Mental Health
Words can change your brain: Part 2
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
Through my own personal experience with anxiety, I have learned first-hand how the words we use change the way in which we evaluate, respond and react to a situation. Joining me this week is Dr. Andrew Newberg, author of Words can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve…
Article: Mental Health
Words can change your brain: Part 1
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
Through my own personal experience with anxiety, I have learned first-hand how the words we use change the way in which we evaluate, respond and react to a situation. Joining me this week is Dr. Andrew Newberg, author of Words can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve…
Article: Family
Long Distance Caregiving
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
Have you ever called an aging relative and had that gut feeling that something was “off?” Or after a weekend visit over the holidays, you notice how disorganized and dirty your aging relative’s home is? Unfortunately, you know something is going on with your loved one but you live too far away…
Article: Inspiration
How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose
by STEPHANIE ERICKSON
“I wish I could do more." "I feel so guilty that I find this so hard. How can people say they appreciate or feel caregiving is rewarding when I hate it!” Or how about, “I feel lost. I don’t know where to turn. What has my life become?” Comments like these are not uncommon for caregivers AND…