Caregiver support group to feature Hattori’s ‘Living with Dementia the Wabi-Sabi Way’

Hattori

Through storytelling, readings, photography, and personal reflections, Mary Therese Perez Hattori, a native CHamoru of Guam, will share her unique and profound perspective on caring for someone with dementia in Isa Psychological Services Center’s online family caregiver support groups at 6pm on Wednesday, Jan. 20, and at 10am on Saturday, Jan. 23.

Her talk, titled “Living with Dementia the Wabi-Sabi Way,” will illustrate the beauty that can be found in impermanence and imperfection and offer family caregivers of persons with dementia a way to face the arduous journey of caregiving with grace.

Hattori is one of nine children of Fermina Leon Guerrero Perez Hattori (familianTitang) and Paul Mitsuo Hattori. Holding a Doctor of Education, she is acting director of the Pacific Islands Development Program at the East-West Center in Hawaii and affiliate faculty for the University of Hawaii. She is also a poet, community organizer, and advocate for Micronesians and other Pacific Islanders in the United States.

Hattori’s talks are part of the ongoing online support groups for family caregivers of persons with dementia hosted by the Isa Psychological Services Center at the University of Guam. The sessions are free of charge to partners, family members, and other caregivers of persons with dementia throughout Micronesia. All support groups are client-centered and confidential.

January sessions
This month’s groups will be held at the following times:

• 6pm – 8pm on Wednesday, Jan. 6
• 10am – noon on Saturday, Jan. 9
• 6pm – 8pm on Wednesday, Jan. 20, featuring Mary Therese Perez Hattori, Ed.D.
• 10am – noon on Saturday, Jan. 23, featuring Mary Therese Perez Hattori, Ed.D.

Hattori will be available after her presentations to answer questions from the group participants.

What to expect
The support groups provide a safe place to share the stresses and challenges, successes and rewards of caring for a loved one with dementia with others who may be going through similar experiences. They also provide a forum for caregivers to participate in presentations led by health care professionals and other community members with expertise in caring for persons with dementia.

The support groups are facilitated by Iain Twaddle of Isa Psychological Services Center, who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology; Health Services of the Pacific social worker Rhoda Orallo, who holds a master’s in social work; and Isa counselor Nikolas Gutierrez, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Sign up to participate
The support groups launched in August in collaboration with the UOG School of Health’s Guam/Micronesia Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program. They will be held year-round in 2021 at 6pm on Wednesdays and 10am on Saturdays in the first and third weeks of each month. The support groups will be conducted remotely on Zoom during the pandemic.
To attend a family caregiver online support group, use the following Zoom links:

Wednesday Support Group: https://zoom.us/j/92072878067
Saturday Support Group: https://zoom.us/j/91243370958

You may also call or email Twaddle or Gutierrez at (671) 735-2883 or isa@triton.uog.edu or Orallo at (671) 735-3277 or nfcspmgr@teleguam.net. (PR)