Navigating the dual responsibilities of career and caregiving is a growing reality, especially for women who frequently find themselves "sandwich carers", supporting children while also taking responsibility for ageing parents. As psychologists, we often have particularly high expectations of ourselves when it comes to our interactions with others, and nowhere does this feel more significant than in the home. For me, this became even more poignant, when my professional expertise in memory loss led me to recognise the early signs of dementia in my mum, herself a highly respected consultant psychiatrist. In this talk I will share this intersection between my professional and personal story, explaining how I applied my neuropsychological expertise to develop evidence-based strategies to support my mum, whilst attempting to sustain and develop the career that gave me those insights. In particular I will focus on the longer term translation of my research and personal experience into resources and workshops for others with concerns about their own or a loved one's memory. I will conclude with observations about the multi-dimensional and gendered nature of dementia caregiving, and discuss the broader implications this has for women's health and workplace equity.
Open to all Social Sciences staff and students.
Location
Round the Green Table in Psychology, 6th Floor – Copland Building, Cavendish Campus
About the speaker
Professor Catherine Loveday
Catherine Loveday is a graduate of the University of Westminster (formerly PCL). She began her career with a PhD in the neuropsychology of memory and ageing, supervised by Alan Parkin (University of Sussex) & Brenda Walter (University of Westminster) and continues to focus on the nature of normal and impaired memory.
Catherine has been an active member of the BPS, as a former Chair of the Psychologist Digest Editorial Advisory Committee and member of the Research Board She has a passion for public engagement with science and is regularly invited to give public lectures at festivals, community events and in schools. Catherine is author of "The Secret World of the Brain" and frequently appears as an expert psychologist on BBC Radio 4's All In The Mind, as well as many other radio and television programmes.
