Re:Therapy for Older Adults

I'm glad you were inspired, everyday I come to work I am inspired. I trained in New Zealand and have always focussed on older adults as my area of great interest. Unfortunately there were limited opportunities during my training to experience the field. Since qualification I have taken it upon myself to at any given opportunity provide education. I have run a course on psychology and ageing over 4 series, speak at our local ADARDs meetings at the drop of a hat, and through my private practice work provide education to caregivers in resthomes relating to behaviour management and other issues surrounding caring for our older adults.

I agree that the area is specialised just as many others are; child and adolescent, forensic, health etc etc and therefore before one can be considered able to enter the field there should be exposure to the area. I continue to encounter stereotypes from colleagues that are unhelpful and sometimes downright insulting, particularly recognising that all older adults are not demented and my client load represents the full mental health issues that most adult psychologists deal with but the cohort also brings along important and distinguishable challenges. For instance when working with a client who felt that his father hated him due to the way he parented and we were restructuring this based on evidence finding, we were now considering how his father was raised and before I knew it we were talking of the victorian era and childrearing practices and societal norms. I believe therefore that not only do pracitioners workign with older adults need to be aware of the special character of the mental health issues but there is a need to also have a knowledge of history and how this influences the clients lives. Just as one would with cultural differences.

I could rant for hours, get me on my hobby horse and its
hi-oh silver!

Regards
Laurette

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