Helping Relationships with Older Adults: From Theory to Practice examines the fundamental theoretical perspectives of the aging process with an emphasis on the healthy aspects of aging. Taking a comprehensive approach, author Adele Williams addresses various therapeutic methods as she highlights the strengths and resiliency of the older population. Exercises and case studies demonstrate key concepts and promote skill development by allowing students to experience the various challenges in the lives of older clients.

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

Helping Relationships with Older Adults: From Theory to Practice examines the fundamental theoretical perspectives of the aging process with an emphasis on the healthy aspects of aging. Taking a comprehensive approach, author Adele Williams addresses various therapeutic methods as she highlights the strengths and resiliency of the older population. Exercises and case studies demonstrate key concepts and promote skill development by allowing students to experience the various challenges in the lives of older clients.

This Third Edition of the bestselling Psychotherapy with Older Adults continues to offer students and professionals a thorough overview of psychotherapy with older adults. Using the contextual, cohort-based, maturity, specific challenge (CCMSC) model, it draws upon findings from scientific gerontology and life-span developmental psychology to describe how psychotherapy needs to be adapted for work with older adults, as well as when it is similar to therapeutic work with younger adults. Sensitively linking both research and experience, author Bob G. Knight provides a practical account of the knowledge, technique, and skills necessary to work with older adults in a therapeutic relationship. This volume considers the essentials of gerontology as well as the nature of therapy in depth, focusing on special content areas and common themes. Psychotherapy with Older Adults includes a comprehensive discussion of assessment and options for intervention. Numerous case examples illustrate the dynamics of the therapeutic task and issues covered in therapy and stress the human element in working with older adults. A concluding chapter considers ethical questions and the future of psychotherapy with older adults. The author has updated the Third Edition to reflect new research findings and has written two entirely new chapters covering psychotherapy with persons with dementia and psychotherapy with caregivers of frail older adults. Since its initial publication in 1986, the book has been used as a course text and a professional reference around the world, including translations into French, Dutch, Chinese, and Japanese. It is a vital resource for practicing therapists and counselors who work with older adults and is also ideally suited as a text for advanced students in psychology, social work, gerontology, and nursing. Praise for Previous Editions: "Bob G. Knight′s largest contribution is his excellent discussion of therapy. The book is clearly written, with a good use of summaries and case examples to clarify the major points. By linking research findings to practice experience, Knight has provided a pragmatic introduction which should be helpful to psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric nurses working with older adults." —JOURNAL OF APPLIED GERONTOLOGY "I recommend this book to anyone interested in working with the elderly, partly because of the content and partly because the author presents the case for doing psychotherapy with the elderly with realism and enthusiasm." —BEHAVIOR RESEARCH & THERAPY

Geriatric depression reduces older adults' quality of life, yet few will seek formal help. Older adults often seek help for emotional distress from informal helpers, which appears to have a therapeutic benefit for them. This qualitative study was designed to investigate older adults' perceptions of helping relationships that they used when faced with emotional difficulties or concerns, characteristics that facilitated their approaching helpers, and what they perceived as helpful in those relationships. This study also looked at older adults ' perceptions of professional mental health practitioners and barriers to seeking help. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 8 older adults between the ages of 78-91, all of whom were participants of the Cache County Study on Memory, Health, and Aging. All participants had been identified in previous interviews as depressed according to study criteria. The interviews took place in the participants' homes and the participants were asked about their experience seeking help with emotional difficulties or concerns. Participants in this study reported using informal helpers (e.g., family and friends) more than formal helpers. Characteristics of those from whom help was sought were consistent with the literature on the therapeutic helping alliance, and included understanding, caring, trust, acceptance, and availability. Behaviors that were found to be helpful included listening, problem solving, normalizing, and understanding. Older adults generally did not trust or have confidence in professional helpers. Overall, the participants preferred working through emotional concerns on their own or with the help of family and friends. This study supports the literature concerning older adults ' use of social support networks for emotional support and provides suggestions for both informal and formal helpers as well as implications for policy and research.

Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.

Older people are the biggest service user group for social workers and an increasing proportion of the population. In this refreshingly positive and practical textbook, Rory Lynch draws on years of practice and teaching experience to show how to achieve best social work practice with older adults. He takes a person-centred approach, which fosters respect by valuing the fact that elderly people have more lived experience than others. Exploring the key theoretical approaches and methods of intervention, this book helps social workers to identify, understand and facilitate their service users’ wishes for well-being and a fulfilling older age. Chapters are practice-driven, containing case studies drawn from a range of care settings, reflective questions and exercises. Mapping directly onto the key modules on the social work degree, this is essential reading for all student social workers, especially as they prepare to go on their practice placement. It is also valuable reading for qualified social workers. Rory Lynch is Lecturer in Social Work at Robert Gordon University.