AARP Meditations for Caregivers ─ Practical, Emotional, and Spiritual Support for You and Your Family

An official AARP book for caregivers combining day-to-day advice and uplifting guidance in a daily meditations format

Barry J. Jacobs, Psy.D., is a clinical psychologist, family therapist, and the author of the bookThe Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers: Looking After Yourself and Your Family While Helping an Aging Parent. Dr. Jacobs has given more than 400 local, regional and national presentations on family caregiving for family caregivers and community groups, mental health/social service professionals, and physicians/nurses. Since 2008, Dr. Jacobs has been the national spokesperson on family caregiving for the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. He is on the expert panel for the Caregiver Crisis Great Challenge for TEDMED.com, an honorary board member of the Well Spouse Association, and a past board member of the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association. He is on the expert panel for the AARP Advisory Panel and writes a monthly caregiving column for AARP.org. As a clinician, Dr. Jacobs specializes in helping individuals and families cope with serious and chronic medical illnesses. As an educator, he works as the Director of Behavioral Sciences for the Crozer-Keystone Family Medicine Residency Program in Springfield, Pennsylvania, and has had adjunct faculty positions with the Temple University School of Medicine, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, and the Department of Psychology of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Julie L. Mayer, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist, has been doing individual and couples therapy for almost 25 years. She is the author of the novelA Fleeting State of Mind. Dr. Mayer has a private practice is in Media, Pennsylvania, where she specializes in women's issues, including caregiving and other relationship concerns. She has held adjunct teaching positions at the Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology of Widener University and in Widener University's undergraduate programs. She was also an Instructor for the Master's Program in Creative Arts Therapy at Hahnemann University for eight years, teaching courses on human development and psychoanalytic theory.

Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Mayer, who are married, previously wrote online columns of psychological advice for WebMD and HealthCentral.com. They live in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.