The workshop – “Comfort Care for Clients and Caregivers” – will be run at the 6th annual Hospice Palliative Care Conference, held in Oshawa on October 5th.

The workshop is an amalgamation, says Karen Haffey, its author and coordinator of complementary therapy programs at Winbourne Park, Elginwood, Bay Ridges and Thortonview (see: Offering comfort through massage, song), of her day-to-day work and a previously run workshop entitled “How Do I Fill the Well?”

Complementary therapy involves gentle massage, polarity therapy, aromatherapy and other forms of sensory stimulation. Haffey also runs a music Comfort Care program along with Elaine Ma. (see: Music therapist revels in reaching non-responsive residents)

“It starts with breathing,” says Haffey, who is also an author (see www.kultivate.ca). “Our lives begin with breath, and I talk about how to practice conscious breathing.”

“This can make a significant impact,” she says.

Haffey says it is common for caregivers to neglect self-care, even if it is an unconscious process.

“More often than not,” she says, “[caregivers] don’t take time for themselves.”

Healthy self-restoration is also infrequently taught in North America, says Haffey.

She hastens to say, however, that every care-giver is self-negating. But it follows, she says, that for those who avoid any form of self-nourishment, burn out is a common end. For family members who have caregiving suddenly thrust upon them, self-care is sustaining.

“With loved ones, sometimes the caregiving role is not a choice. [The person cared for] suddenly becomes the centre and it’s easy to forget about ourselves. You need to take time,” say Haffey.

Along with breath work, Haffey will talk about aromatherapy techniques and discuss the successes she has had with pain reduction for residents through her Comfort Care program.

Mindfulness is the undergirding principle of the workshop, she says.