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The Growing Problem of Drug and Alcohol Use in Older Adults
I recall when I was doing a field placement in a geriatric care facility in Joliet, Illinois, I encountered a resident who kept a flask of whiskey in his robe pocket and seemed to always have a ready replacement when one was empty. Often the patient was in a stupor and had several incidents in...
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The Emotional Needs of Older Adults from the Former Soviet Union
Many people from the former Soviet Union seek and receive culturally sensitive services from the FEGS Brooklyn Resource Center on Kings Highway in Brooklyn. This outpatient OMH licensed clinic provides psychiatric and counseling services to many Russian speaking individuals of whom a majority are...
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Support for Older Adult Peers
The Baltic Street, Advocacy, Employment, and Housing, Inc, Geriatric Peer Advocacy Program may be the only peer to peer program in New York City that offers services to seniors that have psychiatric disabilities. The program has been in existence since 1998 and although it is a small program, over...
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Serving the Mental Health Needs of Homebound Older Adults
As our population continues to age, it is not uncommon for many of us to have an older neighbor who has become homebound and disappeared from view. Maybe once they were an active part of the community, but now as a result of life changes associated with aging, such as declining health or the loss...
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Principles for Promoting Inter-Group Relations Among Adolescents Through Group Work
Group work is a wonderful way of reducing prejudice and bigotry, promoting inter-group relations and enhancing ethnic group identity in adolescence. With its emphasis on mutual exploration and discovery, group work is very well suited to address these issues. The following are seven principles for...
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Senior Peers Provide Companionship to Homebound: New York City Program Addresses Social Isolation in Older Adults
Individuals of any age group benefit from being socially connected: having friends, outside activities and people to talk to. Older adults, especially those with a mental illness, potentially have more difficulty remaining connected because it is easier for them to gradually lose their social...
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Geriatric Mental Health in New York State: A Reflection on Progress and Future Directions
The first wave of the baby boom generation turns 65 this year. In New York State, the number of older adults will grow 50% over the next twenty years from 2.7 million in 2011 to 3.9 million in 2030. 20% of these individuals have diagnosable mental and/or substance use disorders. As a result of this...
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Aging with Optimism in FEGS Behavioral Health Residential Programs
Growing old in America today carries a different connotation than it did in the past. The elderly are no longer settling for aging gracefully, rocking chairs, and permitting family members to decide how they will spend the remainder of their lives. Instead, striving for a youthful appearance and...
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Point of View – Generational Competence: A Conceptual Framework for Aging in America
Two major demographic trends will unfold in America during the first half of the 21st century. Minorities will grow from 29% to 47% of the American population, and older adults (65+) will increase from 13% to 20%, becoming roughly as large as the population of children and adolescents under 18 for...
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Older Consumers and the PROS Model: A Growing Challenge
In 2011 the post-World War II “baby boom” generation starts turning 65. With this change it is expected that the census of elderly people diagnosed with a mental illness will also increase. It is projected that by the year 2030, the number of older adults diagnosed with a mental illness will...
