Care for Caregivers: Understanding the Need for Caregiver Support

Most long-term care for older adults in the United States is provided by informal caregivers (Ahmad, 2012), the majority of whom experience an intense range of emotions from satisfaction to loneliness. Counselors must consider this emerging population of caretakers and learn methods to encourage clinical services to address their need for support. This article delineates experiences and challenges of informal caregivers and provides suggestions for effective clinical services for caregiver populations.