About Gloria Vanderhorst: Dr. Gloria Vanderhorst is a licensed psychologist offering virtual therapy in Maryland and Washington, DC. With over 40 years of clinical experience, she has worked with preschoolers, teens, adults, and couples, guiding them through life’s challenges with compassion and expertise.

Her therapeutic approach integrates Emotion Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Traumatic Incident Reduction. She focuses on healing early trauma, improving emotional functioning, and strengthening relationships. Dr. Vanderhorst also supports the court system with co-parenting guidance and reunification services for families.

In her free time, she enjoys watercolor painting and playing her baroque recorder.

In this episode, Brian and Gloria Vanderhorst discuss:

• Balancing the overlapping demands of family caregiving and personal responsibilities
• Using reflection and journaling as tools for growth and healing
• The impact of cultural expectations on men’s emotional expression
• How family stress affects the emotional needs of children and teenagers.

Key Takeaways:

• The journaling method of reading, reflecting, and responding allows people to unlock hidden memories and emotions stored in images or sensations rather than words, giving them a deeper understanding of how past experiences continue to shape their present.
• Men are socially conditioned from infancy to suppress vulnerability and emotional expression, which not only creates lifelong struggles with intimacy and openness but also leads many to rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms that manifest physically and emotionally.
• Parents who become consumed by the responsibilities of caring for aging relatives can unintentionally neglect their teenagers’ need for connection, making it crucial to intentionally carve out small but meaningful moments that reassure children of their continued importance.
• Boys naturally begin life with a wider range of emotional expression than girls, but repeated subtle withdrawals and corrections from caregivers gradually narrow that range, teaching them to mute their feelings and leaving lasting consequences on their ability to fully experience and share emotions.

"We deny men the capability of expressing themselves emotionally. We put them in a narrow little box." — Gloria Vanderhorst

Connect with Gloria Vanderhorst:

Website: http://www.drvanderhorst.com/

Book: Read, Reflect, Respond - The 3 Rs of Growth and Change: https://www.amazon.com/Read-Reflect-Respond-Growth-Change/dp/1633023036

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloria-vanderhorst-ph-d-730826b

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drvanderhorst

Host contact information: 

• Email: briansacksnewsletters@gmail.com



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About John Fela: John Fela (Felageller) serves as the Ministry Relations Manager at Joni and Friends Chicago, where he partners with churches to equip and train them to better support individuals and families impacted by disability. Before stepping into ministry work, John spent nearly two decades in education, teaching and leading in roles ranging from classroom teacher to school director. He lives in Lyons, IL, with his wife, Faith, and is the proud father of his son Christopher, who is autistic and nonverbal. In addition to his advocacy, John is a sought-after public speaker, podcast guest, and contributor to special needs platforms including Key Ministry’s Special Needs Family blog, Hope Anew, and The Mighty.

In this episode, Brian and John Fela discuss:

• Caregiving responsibilities across different generations
• Financial and legal preparation for future care needs
• Parenting a child with disabilities
• Building support systems through community and faith

Key Takeaways:

• The overwhelming monthly expenses of long-term elder care—ranging from $5,000 to $8,000—often force families to liquidate assets such as homes, leaving children without inheritance and creating financial strain that lasts for years.
• Establishing a special needs trust and working with a qualified special needs attorney ensures that children with disabilities can maintain eligibility for Medicaid and other state programs while protecting family savings for supplemental needs throughout their lifetime.
• Many families postpone critical legal steps such as creating wills, assigning power of attorney, or establishing guardianship, which results in court intervention, delays in care, and significant stress when a parent’s health suddenly declines.
• Beyond financial and legal preparation, caregivers must lean on both personal grounding—whether through faith or other belief systems—and trusted community connections to survive the emotional isolation, fatigue, and unpredictability that caregiving inevitably brings.

"There is no such thing as too much [planning]… if you don’t have protections for your child, the system can very easily take advantage of them." — John Fela

Connect with John Fela:

Website: http://johnfela.com/

Twitter: https://x.com/jfelageller74

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnsspecialneedsblog

Host contact information: 

• Email: briansacksnewsletters@gmail.com



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About Dr. Corinne Auman: Dr. Corinne Auman is a recognized gerontologist with over 20 years of experience working directly with older adults and their families and is the author of Keenagers: Telling a New Story about Aging.

She is a Nationally Certified Guardian, Certified Senior Advisor, and an Advanced Professional member of the Aging LifeCare Association. She received her Ph.D. from NC State University, where she studied developmental psychology with a specialty in adulthood and aging.

Dr. Auman speaks to audiences about aging in America and the real-world impact of age bias.

As a gerontologist with a profound commitment to making a difference, Dr. Auman continues to champion the cause of older adults and their families. Her multifaceted approach, encompassing caregiving, education, activism, and authorship, positions her as a true advocate for a new narrative around aging.

In this episode, Brian and Dr. Corinne Auman discuss:

• Caregiving challenges faced by families juggling multiple responsibilities
• Guidance and coordination provided by care managers in eldercare
• Conflicts between independence and safety during the aging process
• Planning ahead to prepare for future aging and caregiving needs

Key Takeaways:

• Families often avoid discussing or preparing for eldercare until a crisis forces them to act, which results in costly mistakes, stress, and lost opportunities for financial support that could have been available with proactive planning.
• A care manager can serve as a central coordinator—helping families understand their options, connect with resources such as VA benefits, and make informed decisions that can prevent financial and emotional exhaustion.
• Adult children frequently face painful choices where they must prioritize safety over their parents’ desire for independence, leading to guilt and conflict, yet care managers emphasize that cognitively intact elders still have the right to make risky decisions.
• Hiring a neutral third party to evaluate care situations can ease family tensions, provide objective reassurance about safety and well-being, and create balanced solutions where both elders and adult children feel respected and supported.

"There's always this push-pull between freedom, which is what our older adults typically want, and safety, which is what our adult children want." — Dr. Corinne Auman

Connect with Dr. Corinne Auman:

Website: https://corinneauman.com/ & https://www.navigateseniorcare.com/

Book: Keenagers: Telling a New Story about Aging: https://corinneauman.com/books/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinneauman/

Host contact information: 

• Email: briansacksnewsletters@gmail.com



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