Care-Giver Syndrome

Joseph Cooper’s article “Who Cares for Care-Givers?” (Commentary, April 16) is a moving and honest expression of the painful conflicts often experienced by adult children of aging parents. As a member of this group who is also a clinical psychologist, I am grateful to see the “care-giver syndrome” identified in a sensitive way.

Cooper states that “the only prognosis for care-giver syndrome is that it will last the course of the patient’s disease,” meaning, I presume, the lifetime of the elderly parent. He suggests that the best treatment is meeting and sharing experiences with others in a similar situation. I agree; support groups are helpful. However, adult children of aging parents may suffer painful conflicts in addition to the normal grieving process long after parents have died; preventive treatment, such as exploring these relationships as roles are shifting between elderly parents and adult children can be helpful for longer term healing.

Thank you to Cooper for focusing attention on a prevalent, but often neglected issue.

SANDY PLONE

Los Angeles