LIVE PODCAST!!! Caring for aging parents is one of the most overwhelming roles many adults take on, especially single and childfree women who often become the default caregiver. Psychologists Barry J. Jacobs and Julia L. Mayer share practical guidance, emotional insight, and compassionate strategies for navigating caregiving without losing yourself.
This episode is a special live workshop recording that took place inside The Single and Childfree Network, where members joined in real time to listen, learn, and ask their most pressing questions about caring for aging parents.
Barry J. Jacobs, PsyD, and Julia L. Mayer, PsyD, husband-and-wife psychologists who have spent over 30 years counseling family caregivers, and who also cared for their own aging parents for more than a decade, share their insight. They are the authors of The AARP Caregiver Answer Book, a compassionate, practical guide designed to help caregivers navigate everything from family conflict and care coordination to financial stress and end-of-life decisions.
This conversation centers the often-overlooked experience of single and childfree women, who are frequently assumed to be the “obvious choice” for caregiving, without discussion, shared responsibility, or support. Together, we explore the emotional weight of caregiving, the family dynamics that complicate it, and the tools caregivers need to protect their mental health while advocating for their parents and themselves.
The final portion of the recording features live audience Q&A, where members of the network asked real, situational questions—especially around doing this work alone, navigating resistant parents, managing sibling dynamics, and understanding legal and financial responsibilities.
This episode is both a resource and a reminder: caregiving doesn’t have to mean self-erasure, and no one should have to figure it out in isolation.
https://x.com/JuliaLMayer23
https://loveandmeaning.com/about/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-jacobs-02ab9625/
https://www.aarp.org/caregiving/experts/barry-jacobs/
Get the AARP Caregiver Answer Book HERE