A patient who may not have an illness exclusively confined to the body quite frequently requires comprehensive in home kinship care. The devoted family member must be willing to not only handle the physical aspects of everyday care, but she or he must also be conscientious about giving the patient medication, checking to ensure that the medication is working as indicated, and being ready and willing to contact the psychiatrist on call with any problems or concerns. Since this is the kind of care situation that is certain to take its toll on those involved in a very short period of time, the need for respite care is a given.

Interestingly, respite care volunteers help overcome depression in not only the patient but also the kinship caregiver who may find that at times the help that she or he is offering is indeed taxing to the max. After all, as a caregiver it is not sufficient to keep an eye on the day to day behavior and development of new activity patterns the person, but in addition to the foregoing the caregiver must very carefully initiate and maintain discussions about any personal feelings the patient may have, seek to ferret out destructive thought patterns, and then of course also help with the physical ailment. When the two are connected, the caregiver may sometimes become the lightning rod — for lack of a better term - of the patient’s frustrations. Eventually, the caregiver may suffer from depression as well - unless she or he has the option of attending specifically designed support meetings.

It is in this context that the help of respite care volunteers will actively fight depression. The patient appreciates the new face and may actually form friendships in this manner. The caregiver is free to leave the patient for a while and knows that there is little chance of the individual hurting themselves or getting into a medical emergency that a friend or peer would not be able to handle. With the freedom that the respite worker offers, the caregiver’s attendance at support meetings has a dual impact:

1. First and foremost, commiserating with others is a great way of bonding with peers and blowing off steam at the same time. Social interactions are never more important than in a time of crisis and caring for a loved one’s body and mind is perhaps the direst emergency many an adult will come across.

2. Secondly, support meetings are safe environments where the caregiver can confidentially express anger, frustration, resentment against the patient, and by and large say anything and everything she or he would never dream of saying to the patient, a family member, and in some cases even a spiritual advisor. This is the time to let out penned up rage and also come to grips with an overwhelming sadness.

Without the respite volunteer, the caregiver would be denied this most basic human interaction and the result could be disastrous. Organizations in the UK and the US are now actively promoting the connection between caregivers and volunteer respite workers for this very reason.

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