It often begins quietly. A parent who forgets where they placed their keys. A spouse withdrawing into depression or anxiety. A family member whose mental health challenges reshape daily life in ways you never expected. Before you realise it, you’ve become a caregiver who is navigating waters you never anticipated crossing.
Whether you’re supporting someone with dementia, mental health struggles, chronic illness, or complex care needs, the emotional weight often catches families by surprise. As Singapore’s population ages and mental health challenges become more recognised, more families find themselves in caregiving roles they never prepared for. Take dementia for example, the number of older adults with dementia in Singapore has risen from 51,934 in 2013 to 73,918 in 2023, and will continue to grow as the population rapidly ages. But numbers don’t capture what it feels like to watch someone you love change, or to carry the weight of decisions no one prepared you to make.
The Reality of Family Caregiving in Singapore
Recent research from Singapore Management University revealed that one in seven older adults are themselves caregivers, with 45% working full time whilst providing an average of 33 hours of weekly care. This matters because it represents families managing what feels like two full time jobs: their actual work and the intensive care they provide to loved ones. The April 2025 study found that many caregivers are juggling their own health challenges, with 34% managing two or more chronic conditions themselves, whilst simultaneously supporting others who depend on them.
Even with practical help like migrant domestic workers, the emotional weight falls on family members. You’re still coordinating appointments, making difficult decisions, and carrying the psychological weight of watching someone you love change.
When the Weight Becomes Too Heavy
The emotional weight of caregiving often catches families by surprise. Research shows that 27% of caregivers experience depression and emotional struggles, more than double the general population. For those supporting loved ones with dementia, this weight feels even heavier.
What makes caregiving particularly challenging is what researchers describe as “anticipatory grief”, the ongoing experience of loss and grief as you watch someone you love gradually change. One caregiver from a 2025 study shared: “The worst day was when I saw my mother try to eat tissue, mistaking it for food. This is someone who had been preparing my meals since I was young.” Another expressed a fear many caregivers hold quietly: “I don’t want to think about the day when she won’t even recognise me.”
Research shows that 39% are at risk for social isolation, spending time away from home “only for running errands or attending appointments.” Many describe being “consumed in the role,” finding it “difficult to spare time for other matters,” ultimately experiencing caregiving as “an isolating and lonely experience.” This is precisely why comprehensive caregiver support in Singapore needs to address not just practical assistance, but the profound emotional and psychological needs of those providing care.
The Gap Between Available Services and Accessible Support
Singapore has developed extensive caregiver resources to support families. The Agency for Integrated Care provides integrated care solutions, including the Caregivers Training Grant offering annual subsidies for eligible caregivers to attend approved training courses. The Home Caregiving Grant provides monthly financial support for families caring for loved ones with moderate disabilities. These practical supports address tangible caregiving needs.
Whilst caregiver resources like financial grants and training exist to help with tangible needs, they address only part of what you’re experiencing as a caregiver. Learning proper lifting techniques or how to manage medication schedules matters. Getting financial relief helps. But these supports cannot address what often weighs heaviest: the emotional and psychological toll of caregiving that you carry day after day.
Many caregivers find themselves struggling with challenges that practical support cannot resolve such as:
- Feeling alone, misunderstood, and at times helpless, fearful, exhausted and stuck carrying the weight and responsibilities in caregiving
- Facing difficult decisions such as those about care, treatment, living arrangements, work and relationships where there is no straightforward answer
- Conflicts with family members about caregiving approaches or sharing of responsibilities
- Blurring of boundaries and difficulties drawing boundaries and communicating needs without overwhelming guilt
- Feelings of loss and grief as you watch someone you love gradually change
Research shows that 86% of caregivers believe there is general stigma around emotional wellbeing struggles, creating reluctance to seek the psychological support you desperately need. This gap becomes especially apparent when you’re supporting a loved one with mental health challenges, where 3 in 4 caregivers expressed needing temporary separation from their care recipient, with 72% saying caring makes them tired and exhausted.
No amount of financial assistance or practical training can address these core challenges. What you need is professional help in reconnecting with yourself, processing complex emotions, and building the internal resilience needed to sustain your wellbeing whilst continuing to care.
This is where professional counselling support becomes essential.
How In Focus Supports Caregivers Differently
At In Focus, our approach goes beyond what practical services can provide. With over two decades of experience in counselling and psychotherapy, our team understands the profound emotional journey caregivers navigate.
Our person centred, humanistic approach, grounded in Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and Choice Theory Reality Therapy means you’re invited into a collaborative process that honours your unique experience and empowers you to find your own way forward. Rather than receiving generic advice or being told what to do, you work with highly qualified counsellors who have Master’s degrees, supervised clinical experience, and specialised training in proven therapeutic methods. Importantly, all our counsellors have experienced personal counselling themselves, giving them genuine empathy for what you’re going through and deep understanding of the courage it takes to seek support.
At In Focus, we help you connect with your emotions rather than staying disconnected or overwhelmed by them. We create safety to experience and process these feelings deeper, always pacing with your own readiness. When we better connect with our emotions with the help of a counsellor or therapist, not only do we become more aware of our deeper needs. This not only provides support and healing that helps you regulate emotionally, you will also learn to do the same for yourself outside of therapy. This then frees up mental and emotional space to face the daily challenges in caregiving. This is the foundation for navigating the difficult experiences or decisions many caregivers face in a grounded manner, while still taking care of yourself.
Each caregiver’s story and journey is unique. You may be contemplating tough decisions about work options and opportunities versus time and attention needed on the home-front in caregiving, grappling with medical decisions where professional advice conflicts with your care recipient’s preferences, or managing family disagreements about responsibility-sharing and what’s best for your loved one. These are just to name a few. The counselling and therapy process helps you understand the internal conflicts you are facing to gain clarity on the choices before you. Cognisant that the situation is dynamic and your loved one’s situation evolves with time, reviewing the decisions and plans over time is part of our process.
Through counselling work at In Focus, caregivers also develop internal strength, groundedness and skills for difficult conversations in a constructive way. This may involve negotiation with family members who see things differently or with the person you are caring for about sensitive topics like care needs or future planning. This emotional regulation and communication support is helpful for managing emotions of moderate intensity to more intense feelings of anxiety, depression, anger and grief that often accompany the caregiving journey. Research strongly supports that these skills are fundamental to caregiver resilience.
Taking the First Step Towards Support
If you’re a family caregiver feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or lost in the demands of caring for someone you love, you don’t have to continue carrying this alone. The right caregiver support begins with understanding your unique struggles and ensuring the approach matches your needs.
At In Focus, we arrange a complimentary 20 to 30-minute initial call to hear about your struggles and share how we work to see if we match what you’re looking for. If we’re a good fit, we’ll set up weekly or fortnightly sessions averaging 1.5 hours. This continuity helps you make sense of feelings, develop emotional regulation skills, and build lasting resilience.
If you’re ready to explore how counselling can support you in your caregiving journey, reach out to us. We’d be glad to hear from you and discuss how we can journey with you towards greater wellbeing and empowerment.