Emotional Resilience Training to Support Care Partners of People Living with Dementia: A Pilot Study.

Care partners of people living with dementia (PLWD) report significantly higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression than non-care partners. Mindfulness-based programs improve overall well-being, but little research has evaluated the impact of emotional resilience programs for care partners of PLWD. This study reports the design and implementation of a pilot emotional resilience training initiative for care partners of PLWD. Three sessions were held at a monthly care partner support group. Emotional regulation skills were assessed using self-recorded emotional shifts before and after resilience practices. The feasibility and acceptability of the program was assessed using feedback collected through a post-survey and focus session. After participating in resilience practices, 82% of participants reported experiencing increased positive emotion. Most participants plan to use the program tools in the future and agree that their overall well-being improved after the training. Participants also noted that this program would be impactful for other care partners. The findings of this pilot study provide evidence that emotional resilience training may be a beneficial support strategy for care partners of PLWD.