"Coping with frustration" classes: development and preliminary outcomes with women who care for relatives with...

We describe a novel intervention program in which wives or daughters who are caregivers are taught several specific skills to enable them to manage their frustrations more effectively. These skills include learning to relax in very stressful situations and learning to be appropriately assertive with their frail elder and with other family members. Class content and structure are presented, along with preliminary data on class efficacy that is based on an N of 48 caregivers who have currently completed this particular class series. We close by noting that this psychoeducational intervention has been very well received by colleagues in other agencies serving family caregivers. In fact, this class series is now being offered to a broad range of caregivers in the San Francisco Bay area.