Ten Footsteps for carers

If you’re living with someone with persistent pain, chances are you’re not just a partner, you’re a carer too.

This section of the website has been created by two people who have experience of exactly this. After many years of supporting partners living with persistent pain, they have recognised that in the long run the only way to keep caring is to take care of themselves as well.
They wrote Ten Footsteps for Carers to help you on that journey . . .

Choose a carers’ footstep

Footstep 1
Being a carer
Footstep 2
Acceptance
Footstep 3
Maintaining relationships
Footstep 4
Setting goals
Footstep 5
Managing your commitments
Footstep 6
Managing thoughts and mood
Footstep 7
Relaxation and mindfulness
Footstep 8
Health for carers
Footstep 9
Good habits for sleep
Footstep 10
When caring ends

The people behind Ten Footsteps for Carers

Karen Trewern

Karen has been married to Louise since 2007 and for a large part of that time she was her full-time carer. 
Fortunately, Louise’s health improved in 2017 and almost overnight was no longer dependent on Karen for care.
The ‘loss’ of the person and the identity of carer had an enormous impact on Karen and her mental health. Karen was lucky enough to receive fantastic talking therapy which helped her. She is now back in full-time work and her relationship with Louise is stronger than ever.
You can watch Karen describing how she overcame the loss of a role when caring ended, in True Stories.

Dee Burrows

Dee is a pain specialist nurse. She was awarded her doctorate in 2000 for her thesis on the identification and use of self-generated pain coping strategies. She has worked in clinical practice, education, service development and pain research in the NHS and independent sectors.
She is a member of the British Pain Society and CMSUK serving on committees in both societies. She is a co-author of the Faculty of Pain Medicine standards for nursing practice in pain.
Dee has been a carer twice in her life and is passionate about carers issues. She was part of the NHS Modernisation Agency Clinical Governance Support Team Core Carers Group, which influenced policy and practice for several years. She supported Bucks Carers in enhancing knowledge and understanding of pain and its management. She undertook collaborative research on the impact of pain upon carers and engaged carers in a local pain management programme.