What do we mean when we say Richmond Carers Centre provides emotional support to carers?
Emotional support about what?
• Our support workers are available when carers need to talk things through. We know that it can be difficult to talk to someone close to you and it can be helpful to talk to someone who is not family or a friend
• Emotional support can be anything from a ten minute chat to a much longer conversation, supporting with any number of issues
• We can alleviate some of the pressure by liaising with other professionals and referring to other organisations for additional support
Why do we provide emotional support?
• To help carers better understand their own needs
• To help carers feel less isolated
• To help carers to maintain and improve their own health and wellbeing
• We recognise how demanding caring can be and that carers need support in order to continue in their caring role
• To enable carers to feel better able to cope with the demands of their caring role
How do we provide emotional support?
• Our support line is available for carers to contact us on, open 10am-3pm Monday-Thursday or leave a message and a support worker will call back
• One-to-one sessions with support workers to talk about a carer’s individual situation (call/email to book)
• We are able to provide support over email if carers prefer this method
• We are able to offer follow-up calls if carers find it helpful
What do carers say about the emotional support given?
“I have had moments of rock bottom dealing with my parents and talking (and crying) to professional support workers has literally stopped me from tipping over the edge.”
“Just the simple kindness and the long chat on the telephone really helped and stopped me feeling inadequate and berating myself for not being super woman.”
“Most important has been being able to talk to somebody when I’ve been feeling desperate. The helpline has been invaluable to me. As has talking to someone on a one-to-one basis face-to-face.”
“I had a one-to-one meeting where I was able to discuss my problems, and felt taken seriously, perhaps for the first time ever.”
Source: Richmond Carers Centre
