Psychology And Geriatrics

Psychology and Geriatrics demonstrates the value of integrating psychological knowledge and insight with medical training and geriatric care. Leading physician and geropsychologist contributors come together to share their collective wisdom about topics that are as emotionally uncomfortable as they are universally relevant. As the world struggles to respond to unprecedented gains in life expectancy and an explosion of new retirees living with chronic health conditions, this collaboration could not be more timely. This exceptional resource is, itself, evidence that physicians and psychologists can work together to optimize truly patient-centered geriatric care. Here at last is a scientifically rigorous, evidence-based response to the aging mind and body from those most expertly trained. Illustrates why and how psychologists must assume a more integrated role in meeting the health care needs of older patients Confronts emotionally laden topics such as cognitively impaired driving, caregiver burden, end-of-life communication, suicide, and systemic issues such as bias, payment, and the culture of medicine Challenges decades-long barriers to integration, from both physician and psychologist perspectives, suggesting how they can finally be overcome Provides an innovative, practical response to academic medicine's growing emphasis on psychological and behavioral science Demonstrates how health care reform creates a behavioral health niche that clinical psychologists are uniquely qualified to fill

Update your knowledge of mental health services delivery in long-term care settings! Authored by experts in the field of psychology practice in long-term care (LTC), this valuable book is designed to update psychologists and educators on developments in the evolving field of geriatric mental health in LTC settings. The editors and chapter authors are scientist-practitioners who use their expertise to cover applied topics while maintaining high scientific and scholarly standards. The first section of Emerging Trends in Psychological Practice in Long-Term Care examines modifications to traditional psychotherapy techniques that make them more appropriate for long-term care patients, with chapters reviewing: group therapy in long-term care brief psychotherapy for treating depression in patients with dementia the use of autobiographical memory techniques in cognitive-behavioral treatment for depression the treatment of disruptive behaviors in LTC residents The second section covers systematic therapy approaches in LTC settings, with chapters discussing: distinctive family therapy issues in LTC an LTC systems application of behavioral treatment for depression using pleasant events a comparison of patient and staff perceptions of characteristics that contribute to the quality of LTC facilities a multidisciplinary team approach to the treatment of dementia training LTC caregivers in behavioral techniques The third section of this remarkable volume addresses the thorny ethical and legal issues unique to LTC residents, including legal definitions, requirements for obtaining informed consent from LTC patients, and confidentiality dilemmas that are unique to clinical services in long-term care. With helpful charts, tables, and fascinating case studies that illustrate clinical issues, this user-friendly text belongs on the reference shelf of everyone involved in providing mental health services to people in long-term care settings!

ìOverall this issue is well organized and informative, a welcome addition to research literature available in the field of aging.î - Educational Gerontology: Learning Resources

It is with great pride that the Psychologists in Long Term Care (PLTC) have sponsored The Professional Educational Long-Term Care Training Manual, and now its second iteration, Geropsychology and Long Term Care: A Practitioner’s Guide. Education of psychologists working in long-term care settings is consistent with PLTC’s mission to assure the provision of high-quality psychological services for a neglected sector of the population, i.e., residents in nursing homes and assisted-living communities. To this end, direct training of generalist psychologists in the nuances of psychological care delivery in long-term care settings has been a major priority. It is a tribute to the accelerating nature of research in long-term care settings that a revision is now necessary. After all, the Professional Educational Training Manual’s initial publication date was only in 2001. However, in the intervening years, much progress has been made in addressing assessment and intervention strategies tailored to the needs of this frail but quite diverse population. It is so gratifying to be able to say that there is now a corpus of scientific knowledge to guide long-term care service delivery in long-term care settings.

The chapters of this book range from the more traditional psychological topic of assessment through to psychological treatment and management approaches for various problems.

This book's main goal is to examine the concept of residential care from a psychological perspective. The chapter authors espouse a psychological approach to long-term residential care and an effort is made throughout the text to present a model of care that encompasses the whole individual. Since psychologists are being increasingly asked to provide consultation to long-term residential care facilities, the need for psychologically-based care models has become apparent. This text offers assistance in developing and maintaining residential care environments that maximize quality of life and personal well-being in the presence of declining physical and emotional resources that are associated with the vicissitudes of living into advanced aging. Geriatric Residential Care is divided into four parts. Part I addresses psychological and social issues facing the frail elderly who are candidates for, or are living in residential care settings. Part II addresses issues in the assessment of individuals in residential care. Part III highlights the design and execution of intervention strategies in residential care. Part IV addresses how organizational aspects of residential care contexts can optimize the quality and meaningfulness of care.

It has been estimated that there are at least 2,500,000 adults, 10% of the population above age 65, who are currently in need of some sort of mental health services (Kramer, Taube, and Redick, 1973). Other estimates are even higher (e. g. , Pfeiffer, 1977). It is expected that this number will increase as the number of older adults increases over the next 40 years. Probably less than 400 clinical psychologists are now provid ing services to this age group. The number of elderly patients actually seen by these psychologists is very, very small. One national survey found that of 353 psychologists who reported that they had older clients, only 495 individuals were seen for psycho logical testing and 1423 for psychotherapy in the one month just prior to the response (Dye, in press). Assuming that the same in dividuals were not seen for both testing and therapy within the one month period--a questionable assumption--approximately . 08% of the at least two-and-one-half million older adults in need of psychological services are now being supplied with these services in some form or another. Thus, the need for increased involvement of clinical psychology with the aged is undeniable. However, few resources currently exist which will serve to increase the number of clinical psychologists trained to meet this need. Probably less than 100 clinical psychologists living today have received any kind of formal graduate training in the clinical psychology of the aging (Storandt, 1977).

At least 5.6 million to 8 million-nearly one in five-older adults in America have one or more mental health and substance use conditions, which present unique challenges for their care. With the number of adults age 65 and older projected to soar from 40.3 million in 2010 to 72.1 million by 2030, the aging of America holds profound consequences for the nation. For decades, policymakers have been warned that the nation's health care workforce is ill-equipped to care for a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population. In the specific disciplines of mental health and substance use, there have been similar warnings about serious workforce shortages, insufficient workforce diversity, and lack of basic competence and core knowledge in key areas. Following its 2008 report highlighting the urgency of expanding and strengthening the geriatric health care workforce, the IOM was asked by the Department of Health and Human Services to undertake a complementary study on the geriatric mental health and substance use workforce. The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults: In Whose Hands? assesses the needs of this population and the workforce that serves it. The breadth and magnitude of inadequate workforce training and personnel shortages have grown to such proportions, says the committee, that no single approach, nor a few isolated changes in disparate federal agencies or programs, can adequately address the issue. Overcoming these challenges will require focused and coordinated action by all.