As I mention at the beginning of the interview, I was excited to interview Barbara Friesner because I was not familiar with the term “generational coach.”  As the interview progressed, it was clear that Barbara has a clear understanding of many of the experiences families might experience during the caregiving process.  A few thoughts really struck me:

• Regardless of rivalries, siblings care about their parents (almost always)
• Caregiving is a way of honoring your parents
• Having a sibling out of the country puts an enormous pressure on the family

About Barbara Friesner and AgeWiseLiving

Barbara Friesner of AgeWiseLiving is a Generational Coach and an expert on issues affecting seniors and their families.   As a Generational Coach, Barbara helps family members help their aging loved ones make and actually implement difficult decisions.  Not only does she help the families know what to do, she also help the family communicate with their parents so their parents will actually do what’s in their best interest – usually the hard part.  And, since sibling issues can be a big issue for many families, she also help siblings work successfully together.

Eldercare was a journey that started for her more than 25 years as the caregiver first for her grandmother for many years and for the past 17 years for her mother who had severe advanced dementia and became a Generational Coach as a result of her more than 25 years of personal experience.

Barbara is also the creator of The Ultimate Caregiver’s Success System which is filled with over 200 pages of easy-to-follow, well organized, step-by-step solutions that carefully guide you through your most pressing questions. The guide also has comprehensive checklists, and sample worksheets.  The System also includes 8 CD’s which seamlessly guide you through the ‘whats’ and ‘whys’ behind the what’s in the workbook so nothing is left to chance!

In addition, because Barbara’s mother had dementia, this is a subject that is very near and dear to her heart so she created a CD called Is It Simple Forgetfulness or the Real Thing – which gives all kinds of information about dementia such as: What dementia is – and what it isn’t; other causes of forgetfulness (many of which can be stopped or reversed); how to communicate with someone with dementia; how to keep them as engaged and independent as possible for as long as possible.

Barbara can be reached at:

www.agewiseliving.com

Every one of us goes through transitions in our lives.  Sometimes, external factors such as caregiving impacts our ability to get through those transitions smoothly.  And if caregiving isn’t enough, a stress of coming retirement can really put you out of alignment.

In this Leaders in Elder Care interview, we meet Michele Nuzzo.  Michele is midlife transitions and retirement coach – someone who can help you get untuck when you are least able to make progress.   What I really like about Michele’s approach to coaching is her use of time-tested assessment tools as part of her care.  These tools are objective, disarming people who might otherwise be defensive or reluctant to open up to new ideas.  Michele has a very soothing demeanor which is a perfect fit for a coach.

Congratulations to Michele for being a Leader in Elder Care.

About Michele Nuzzo

Midlife Transitions and Retirement Lifestyle Coach Michele A. Nuzzo is the founder of Midlife Menu. Michele empowers baby boomers to find their own path to a more conscious and joyful life as they juggle careers, caregiving and planning for retirement. She inspires them to reinvent themselves and ignite the spark of passion and purpose in their second act of life. On a personal level, she has been involved with chronic and acute caregiving issues for more than 15 years.

Michele is a certified life coach and a certified retirement coach. She earned her life coaching certification from Coach Training Alliance. She is also certified by Retirement Options to administer and interpret their proprietary assessment tools, the Retirement Success Profile® and LifeOptions Profile®.

Michele graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in English literature, a paralegal certificate, and a designation in journalism with a specialization in print journalism.

She also earned a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University. Before launching her coaching practice and freelance writing career, Michele served as a human resources representative /senior benefits and policies adviser for a major corporation and as director of development and communications for several nonprofit organizations.

Contact Information

To learn more, visit http://www.midlifemenu.com

Follow Michele on Twitter at http://twitter.com/michelenuzzo

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/michelenuzzo

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/michelenuzzo