Transforming Difficult Decision Making in Elder Care

Families today are assuming responsibility for the informal care of over 75 percent of elderly family members and are often faced with difficult decisions from a bewildering array of choices:? e.g. estate planning, financial issues, and guardianship.? In the best of circumstances, this can be a stressful process and sometimes leads to disagreements, confusion, and conflict at a time when the best intentions of the family are to work together for the needs of a loved and respected aging family member. With the help of a trained professional mediator, family members share information and perspectives, explore and evaluate options, and develop workable solutions through a process that promotes open and positive communication.? The mediator is a neutral, who does not offer advice and believes that each family is unique and knows best what solutions will work for their family as a whole.? For families in conflict or simply wanting help through a transition elder care mediation offers a process which can reduce stress and prevent a crisis.

Louise Phipps Senft, an attorney, is the founder of the Baltimore Mediation/Louise Phipps Senft and Associates, the first trans-formative mediation firm in Maryland. She designed and continues to teach what was the first certificated mediation training course offered by the law school. Ms. Senft was voted “Baltimore’s Best” mediator, 2002 by Baltimore Magazine and named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women for 2004, 2007 and 2009 by The Daily Record. She lectures extensively and was appointed by Chief Judge Robert Bell of the Court of Appeals to the Maryland ADR Commission and was later appointed as Chair of the first ADR Family Mediation Initiative for the State. Ms. Senft was the initiator, co-creator, lead trainer and supervisor for the Baltimore City Circuit Court Family Mediation Services Program.