Supporting Mental Wellness for Caregivers during the Holiday Season

Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi (CCH) is announcing a Zoom workshop on November 19 – to support caregivers during the Holiday Season and beyond.

Presenter: Lucas Morgan, PhD is a clinical psychologist from and practicing in Hawai’i, focusing on mental health for older adults, their families, and caregivers. He graduated from Punahou School and worked in Hawaiian conservation ecology before transitioning into psychology and pursuing his PhD at UMass Boston. He completed his internship and post-doctoral fellowship with I Ola Lāhui, a Hawaiʻi non-profit clinic and training program that provides evidence-based mental health practices for Native Hawaiians and rural communities statewide. During those years working in rural primary care sites, witnessed how older adults are often invisible to the mental health system and how even well-intentioned health providers and family members can be affected by negative stereotypes of aging in their treatment of older patients. Since then, Lucas has been providing direct clinical service to older adults, working with geriatric medical teams, providing workshops and talks on older adult and caregiver issues, and leading Savvy Caregiver trainings for families caring for a person living with dementia. Lucas loves spending time with his kids and family, fishing, growing native plants, and playing music.

Dr. Morgan will cover:

• Understanding common Holiday stressors
• Ambiguous loss and grief during the Holidays
• Seeking support and help
• Being okay with not being okay
• Self-Care that’s not selfish
• Caring for someone with dementia during the Holidays

These dementia sessions are sponsored by Catholic Charities Hawaii (CCH) Circle of Care for Dementia.

These caregiver workshops are made possible by the Elderly Affairs Division of the City & County of Honolulu through Federal Older Americans Act funding given to Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi.