Caretaker Coach: How to Help a Loved One with Mental Illness
Practical guidance for caregivers of adults with serious mental illness. Find help, navigate the system, and care for your loved one without losing yourself.
If you're caring for someone with a serious mental illness, here's what Sharon offers:
One-on-one coaching — real support for navigating diagnoses, treatment, and a system that rarely explains itself
Workshops & group coaching — building resilience, setting boundaries, and finding your voice alongside others who get it
Resources & referrals — so you're not starting from zero
Empowerment strategies — because you deserve to reclaim your own well-being, not just manage everyone else's
Caregivers are the unsung heroes of mental health. Sharon believes you deserve more than admiration — you deserve tools, validation, and a path forward.
Start with her book, Caretaker Coach: How to Care for the Mentally Ill Without Losing Your Mind — the same lessons she now teaches families one-on-one, written from a mother's perspective.
Or explore coaching, speaking, and resources at caretaker-coach.com.
Mission Statement
If you’re caring for an adult loved one diagnosed with a serious mental illness — schizophrenia,
schizoaffective disorder, or another severe mental health condition — you are not alone.
Caretakers of the mentally ill are some of the most resilient and dedicated people out there. Our
mission is not just to support you through caregiving, but to help you advocate for your loved
one, break down the stigma around serious mental illness, and build a community where
families don’t have to navigate this alone. Whether you’re a parent, spouse, sibling, or friend,
you play a crucial role in your loved one’s quality of life — and you deserve support too.
Through practical guidance, lived experience, and honest conversation, Caretaker Coach helps
families build a foundation of hope and resilience.
Our Story
As a full-time caretaker of an adult diagnosed severely mentally ill, I am not alone. 8.4 million people in the U.S. care for an adult with a mental or emotional health issue. Caregivers of adults with mental or emotional health issues spend an average of 32 hours per week providing unpaid care (NAMI, 2020). These are staggering statistics. Think about the impact we can make if we empower families to better care for loved ones living with a mental illness. We help families navigate through the mental health system, teach families how to advocate for their loved ones, maintain their health and happiness, and build a foundation of hope and resilience.
Caretaker Coach
How to Care for the Mentally Ill, Without Losing Your Mind
From a Mother’s Perspective
This book teaches caretakers how to care for a loved one who suffers from a mental illness and how to do it with grace and gratitude. The author has a master's degree in social work, however, this book was written from a mother’s perspective. Her adult son was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder over seventeen years ago. Before the author received her graduate degree, she was just a regular mom, in desperate search of getting care for her then seventeen-year-old son. The mental health system was not forthright or authentic about what types of treatment were available. The standard answer she received over and over again was, “There is nothing you can do for him, he’s almost an adult.”
This book teaches the reader there is, in fact, something you can do. You do not have to sit back and watch your loved one struggle with a mental illness. You do not have to walk on eggshells or hold your breath waiting for the next shoe to drop. Even if your loved one is an adult, there are steps you can take to ensure that your loved one gets the treatment they need, while you maintain your own peace and sanity.
