“How do I do this?” he said. His wife was just enrolled in hospice. “We’ve been married for 40 years, but God help me, I don’t know what I should be doing.”

It’s a question asked by millions of people every day when they anticipate or find themselves thrust into the role of caregiver for a loved one who is dying. Their involvement may be continuous, providing physical and emotional care, or sporadic and limited to conversations ranging from pleasantries to final goodbyes. While everyone wants to “do the right thing,” few have had the experience.

Who Will Benefit for the Workshop? This is a workshop for significant others who want to be as helpful as they can for their partners. For adult children who want to repay their aging parents for a lifetime of love. For family and friends who want to do what they can for people who have been an important part of their lives. And for parents who may have the dreadful task of helping their adult or young children die.

What Will Be Covered? In this interactive workshop, caregivers will learn more than 50 things they can do that will ease the death of loved ones and reduce their own eventual grief. The suggestions are based on 8 years of hospice experiences and 30 years of communications counseling.

Who Will Lead the Workshop?

The workshop will be led by Stan Goldberg, Ph.D., author of the award-winning Lessons for the Living: Stories of Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Courage at the End of Life. His next book, Leaning Into Sharp Points: How Caregivers Can Ease Loved Ones Transitions at the End of Life, will be published by New World Library in Fall, 2012. Stan has been a hospice bedside volunteer for eight years and is Professor Emeritus at San Francisco State University where for 25 years he researched how to communicate difficult emotions and taught more than 3,000 graduate students to implement therapy procedures based on his original research. Read the reviews of his workshops and also see videos of a past presentation.

How to Schedule a Workshop Agencies should contact Stan directly at stan@stangoldbergwriter.com or by phone 415-566-7200. If you are an individual, you can bring this email to the attention of an agency that serves you and your loved one.