ONE OF THE HARDEST DECISIONS A FAMILY CAN MAKE
Is it time for residential aged care?
Maybe home no longer feels safe. Maybe you're exhausted. Maybe you promised yourself you'd keep Mum or Dad at home forever. Whatever has brought you here, you don't have to make this decision alone.
I'll help you understand when it may be time, choose a home with confidence, prepare for the move, and support Mum or Dad through those emotional first weeks — so you can stop wondering if you're making the right decision.
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THE QUESTIONS KEEPING YOU AWAKE
Maybe these sound familiar...
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How do I know it's really time?
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How do we choose the right home?
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Am I giving up too soon?
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What if Dad keeps asking to go home?
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What if Mum hates me?
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How much will this cost?
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Should we try respite care first?
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How do I tell my family?
The goal isn't simply to find a care home. It's to find the right care for Mum or Dad, and make the transition work for your whole family.
YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS
“I promised Mum I’d never put her in a home.”
Maybe you said those exact words. And now you're facing a decision you never thought you'd have to make.
Choosing residential care doesn't mean you've broken your promise to care for her. Sometimes, it means making sure she has the care you can no longer provide alone.
The way you care is changing.
Your relationship doesn't have to.
Melissa
WHERE TO BEGIN
If you were sitting with me today...
These are the conversations we'd work through together.
Knowing when it's time
✓ Signs home is no longer enough
✓ Why families often wait too long
✓ When to trust your instincts
01
Choosing the right home
✓ Questions to ask on tours
✓ What matters most
✓ Choosing a team, not a building
02
Helping Mum or Dad settle
✓ Preparing for the move
✓ Making the room feel familiar
✓ What to expect in the first few weeks
03
Becoming family again
✓ Visiting without guilt
✓ Responding to "I want to go home"
✓ Finding your new role
04
AND THE ONE THING I HOPE YOU REMEMBER...
You are choosing a team, not a building.
Families naturally compare bedrooms, gardens, activities, menus. Those absolutely matter. But quality of life is shaped far more by the people. Their warmth, culture, consistency, and kindness.
Beautiful buildings don't create great care. Great people do.
When you visit a home, don't just ask: "Is this a nice place?"
Ask: "Would I trust these people to care for someone I love?"
My beautiful great-aunt, aged 100, living with dementia in residential aged care
Not every family can sit in my consulting room, but
every family deserves the same calm, practical guidance.
That's why I created the Dementia Playbook and answer families' questions live every week.
All 9 Stages • Weekly Q&As
AUD $297 • 7-day money-back-guarantee
Telehealth or in Sydney, Australia
$420 per 50-minute consultation
INSIDE YOUR PLAYBOOK
Everything you need to make this decision with confidence.
Learn how to know when it's time, compare aged care homes with confidence, understand the costs and government funding, prepare for moving day, respond to "I want to go home", and help Mum or Dad settle into a life that still feels meaningful.
And your Playbook grows with your family.
Your Playbook includes guidance for every stage of the dementia journey, so whenever life changes, you'll already know where to turn.
✔︎ Planning ahead
✔︎ Introducing help at home
✔︎ Talking about driving
✔︎ Managing difficult behaviours
✔︎ Choosing residential aged care
✔︎ Every chapter ahead
The next chapter will already be waiting for you.
7-day money-back-guarantee · Weekly live Q&As
🇦🇺 AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTIAL AGED CARE GUIDE INCLUDED
Everything families wish someone had explained before the move.
Most families only move a parent into residential aged care once.
That means you're expected to make one of the biggest decisions of your life while learning an entirely new system.
I'll explain how residential aged care works, what it costs, what government funding is available, how to compare homes, and what to expect after Mum or Dad moves in.
✔️ How residential aged care is funded
✔️ Understanding RADs, DAPs and daily care fees
✔️ Comparing homes with confidence
✔️ Questions to ask on every tour
✔️ What to expect during the first few weeks
✔️ Helping Mum or Dad settle well
You shouldn't have to learn an entire aged care system while making one of the hardest decisions of your life.
WEEKLY Q&A's
Last Wednesday, families asked…
💬 “How do we know it's really time?”
💬 “How often should I visit?”
💬 “Should we try respite first?”
💬 “What if Mum wants to come home?”
Every Wednesday night, I'll answer as many family questions as I can. You can join live, or submit your question and watch the replay later.
"Bring me the question that's been keeping you awake at night. Whether you're overwhelmed, unsure, or simply don't know what to do next, you don't have to figure this out alone."
Melissa
Includes lifetime access to every stage of the Dementia Playbook, plus weekly live Family Q&As.
WHY I CREATED THIS
I've sat beside families making this decision hundreds of times.
I've also spent years working inside residential aged care myself, so I know what helps people thrive after the move — not just how to choose a home. I've seen the mistakes families blame themselves for.
Most importantly, I've seen families discover that moving into residential care wasn't the end of their relationship. It was the beginning of a different chapter.
Melissa
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I've worked with:
YOUR NEXT STEP
Choose the support that's right for your family.
I'll meet you there. Start with the stage you need today, or unlock the complete Playbook for guidance through every stage ahead.
PRIVATE CONSULTATION
AUD $420
Per 50-minute session
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Personalised guidance for your family's situation
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Ideal for complex family situations
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Telehealth or in Sydney
Try the Complete Playbook for 7 days.
If you don't feel calmer, clearer and more confident about what to do next, simply email me within 7 days for a full refund. No awkward conversations, no complicated forms.
Trusted by 1,000+ Australian families
COMMON QUESTIONS
You probably want to know...
Can my siblings or other family members use it too?
Yes. The Playbook is designed to help families get on the same page. When everyone has the same trusted guidance, conversations become calmer and decisions become clearer.
Don't we need to see you in person?
In-person support is wonderful when you can get it — but professional dementia support often has a 6+ month waitlist. The Playbook gives you expert strategies the moment you need them, plus live weekly Q&As where I answer your family's specific questions — all for less than the cost of one appointment.
Is this just for Australians?
Not at all — dementia is a universal experience. Families worldwide share the same fears and challenges. Just read 'Mum' as 'Mom' and 'Ageing' as 'Aging'.
As stated in our Terms of Use, Talking Ageing Pty Ltd is not engaged in rendering therapy services by providing this site, and your use of the site does not create any therapist-patient or other treatment relationship between you and Talking Ageing or Melissa Levi
YOU'LL GET TO BE THEIR DAUGHTER AGAIN
This isn't the end of your relationship.
Choosing residential aged care doesn't mean you're no longer caring. It means you're no longer carrying every part of Mum or Dad's care on your own.
Imagine visiting Mum because you want to see her, not because you're racing around doing the washing, preparing meals or organising medications. Imagine sitting together over a cup of tea, looking through old family photos, listening to Dad tell the same story again. Laughing together.
Then driving home knowing they're safe tonight.
Many families tell me that six months later, they wish they'd made the move sooner — not because they stopped loving Mum or Dad, but because they finally had the space to simply be family again.
That's what the right support can make possible. The right aged care home doesn't replace your relationship. It protects it.
Lifetime access, every stage, weekly live Q&As. Whenever you need support, it's here.
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"Warm and compassionate, Melissa offers sound clinical information and practical advice... Sure to be helpful for all families."
- Scientia Professor Henry Brodaty, Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, UNSW Sydney
"We all MUST talk about old age and cognitive impairment, and Melissa shows the way!"
- Associate Professor David Burke, Discipline of Psychiatry, UNDA Sydney
I've worked with: