Holistic Caregiving

For the last ten years I have been offering caregiving for infants and elders alongside with my body-arts-healing and teaching practice. My approach to caregiving is holistic. My articles on infants and elders will give you more specific information about my approach.
I work best with clients - parents or elders - who have been involved themselves or are interested in and open to alternative health- and bodycare and would like to continue on that path.

For more specific information and excellent references contact:

Heike Be (Bollhorst) : 831-224-0344

Testimonials on childcare:
We had the privilege of having Heike Bollhorst work for us in the capacity as a nanny (for our daughter Sierra) since June 2000. She has also lived in the guesthouse on our property, during the same period. Some highlights of our experiences with Heike are as follows:
- RELATIONSHIP with Sierra - Sierra loves Heike very much, and is completely comfortable with her, and that was the case within the first two weeks with us, when Sierra was only 17 months old. She is very stimulating for Sierra, is a great playmate and does a great job of educating her along the way.- QUALIFICATIONS - included in her background is some good teaching and pre-school work experience, which is evident how she has delt with Sierra.- RELIABILITY - She is always on time and can be counted on to do whatever she agrees to do. we never had to worry if she would be on time when we had to go somewhere.- BOUNDARIES - Heike handles Sierra at least as well as we do in terms to knowing where to put up boundaries that are appropriate for Sierra’ s development.. We have had the opposite experience with one other person who has taken care of Sierra and it didn’t work well. we have found it is very important that Sierra is with adults who know when to say “no”.
- HONEST COMMUNICATOR - Heike is a very clear and honest communicator, which we find refreshing. There are no hidden agendas with her.- PARENT PARTNERSHIP - We have found heike to be an excellent partner for us in terms of working together on the best way to raise Sierra. She has provided us a lot of input that has been very helpful in raising Sierra and she does it in an empowering way.- FLEXIBILITY - While we had a set schedule, heike has been flexible whenever possible in terms of modifying the schedule to meet our needs, and we have tried to do the same for her.- MASSAGE - Heike also just happens to be an exceptional masseuse. We included a weekly massage for one of us as being part of our agreement with her.- COOKING - Heike is an excellent cook, and has cooked for us at times as well.Heike has decided it is time for her to move on to another pursuit in the arena of childcare. She finds our location (Woodacre) too isolated for her liking. Additionally, she is looking for a situation which provides more responsibility and would like to support parents who are working full-time or are single parents. We highly recommend Heike.
Aug. 2001 Jim & Shante Sciaroni

Heike Bollhorst has served as our family’s childcare provider from Feb. 2002 - Aug. 2002
when our daughter Sophia was 4 months old - to today, at 9 months old. We would highly recommend Heike for a childcare position for the following reason:- Heike is reliable. She is always on time and extremely trustworthy. She always does what she says she will do.- Heike is extremely loving and caring with our child. As aresult, Sophia loves Heike! Heike also pays attention to Sophia’s rhythms and plans the day’s activities around how Sophia is doing. We really appreciate this, because it means that our daughter does get a consistent routine; however it is based on Sophia’s internal schedule rather than on a rigid time clock.- We engage in constructive dialog. What I really appreciate is the ability to speak with Heike about our daughter’s developments - both good and not so good - and collectively assess ways of interacting with Sophia so that we are consistent in the care we give.- Heike is honest. If something isn’t quite right, Heike will discuss it with us. There are no hidden agendas and we appreciate this.- Heike is creative and expressive. We really love Heike’s openess about trying new activities: dancing, drumming and generally taking time to notice the world outside. This - we believe - has been great for our daughter.- Heike helps us manage our busy life. Although we don’t prioritize this over the care for our daughter, Heike helps us around the house when our daughter is sleeping or playing on her own. We regularly come home to clean and folded laundry, shopping done and even occasionally dinner cooked for us.What a pleasure! We highly recommend Heike.
July 2002 Ginny Strang

Testimonials on eldercare:
Heike Bollhorst was my caretaker from December 1999 to March 2000, and she has been a friend of mine for several years. Her responsibilities as a caretaker included body-care (i.e. massaging and bathing), housekeeping, shopping and meal preparations. She prepared for small dinner parties, daily scheduling, answering phone calls, occasional secretarial functions, chauffeuring to classes and concerts and medication preparation. Heike generously included gardening with me while in my home, for which I greatly appreciate her efforts.Heike is an exceptionally energetic person - physically strong and attractive. She graciously wishes to help me in all directions. she has excellent care-taking instincts, provides good and intelligent care.Heike created an environment that allowed me to be at ease and secure. She is trustworthy, reliable, forthright, fast and perceptive in assessing what needs to be done in the household and daily scheduling. She balances taking initiative and allowing things to unfold. I especially enjoyed Heike’s training and skills as a splendid masseuse. Since she is active and deeply interested in total body care, she is observant with interest. She has acquired a good education. Her sophistication and cultivation, variety of life experiences, as well as an exceptional level of self-awareness, group action and self-knowledge made her an active influence in my home I recommend Heike Bollhorst as an active and intelligent care-taker.
July 2000 Madi Bacon (Conductor, Musician, Educator, Professor)

Heike Be (Bollhorst) has been one of my mother’s caregivers since June 2006. My mother is 83 years old, has Parkinson’s Disease and is legally blind, which means there is very little she can do for herself. For the past 8 months, Heike has helped her get through all the activities of the day, such as bathing, dressing, toileting exercise, trips to the doctor, etc. Heike has also prepared meals, help keep the house in order and cared for my mother’s dog. She has also given my mother treatments in her capacity as a massage therapist. My mother has a lot of special needs and likes everything “just so”, so caring for her can be quite demanding. Heike has exhibited compassion, flexibility and patience in a situation which most people find quite trying. She has also been completely reliable and willing to do whatever is needed.
Feb.2007 Claudia Chester

For several months this year, Heike Bollhorst was a caregiver for my mother, Elisabeth (Betty) Kendall, both at the Park Lane Residence in Monterey and at her new residence in Seaside. I cannot speak highly enough about Heike. Her compassion, calm, sensitivity and serenity are remarkable. She provided my mother with the best care I could have asked for, and I am thankful for every minute my mother was privileged to spend with her. My mother adored her, as well. Heike also created a beautiful spiritual atmosphere for my mother in her passing. Please feel free to contact me with any question you might have. I can assure you that whoever has Heike as a caregiver will be receiving the very finest personal and professional care, above and beyond all expectations.
Sept. 2007 Melinda Kendall Erickson