Creative, multipronged national efforts are underway to address the shortage of geriatric mental health providers who also have knowledge of substance use.
Building the Geriatric Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce
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The E4 Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Disparities in Aging
Solving a critical need to prioritize behavioral healthcare for older Americans.
Digital Mental Health for Older Adults: Foe or Friend?
Reimbursement policies, cross-state licensure, and medical training will all need alteration for tech to have the desired impact on late life mental health.
Unmet Mental Health Care Needs: Layered Marginalities in Older Adult Populations
Addressing needs of undocumented immigrants, those with serious mental illness, and those with intellectual disabilities.
Connecting Crime and Abuse Victims to Mental Health Services
Highly effective therapy for victims of crime and elder abuse reduces depression.
Mental Health Task Sharing: Training Volunteers, Peers, and Interns
Non-licensed individuals delivering specific mental health help can be effective for elders, particularly in areas with a dearth of licensed mental health providers.
Mental Health Literacy Among Elders: What Do We Know, What Can We Do?
Multiple strategies will be needed to empower older adults to seek and accept mental health services and supports when they need them.
Our Guest Editor: Passionate About Elders’ Resilience
Geriatric mental health expert Tobi Abramson will never stop pushing the growth narrative.
The Ibasho Model of Elder Empowerment and Community Ownership
Elder-led community model fosters older adults’ mental health and resilience.
See Me! Hear Me! Know Who I Am!
An experience of being assessed.
InsideMental Health, Aging, and ResilienceGenerations Journal
Generations Journal, vol. 48, no. 1 (Spring 2024)
Building the Geriatric Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce
Abstract: The United States must act now to strengthen the geriatric healthcare workforce to meet the mental health and substance use (MH/SU) needs of a growing older adult population. Older adults have complex MH/SU needs. The geriatric specialist shortage means we...
The E4 Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Disparities in Aging
Abstract: There are not enough healthcare providers to meet the mental health needs of older adults, and older adults are far less likely to get mental health and substance use services than are younger adults. The SAMHSA-funded E4 Center of Excellence for Behavioral...
Digital Mental Health for Older Adults: Foe or Friend?
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the integration of telemental health services for older adults. But such digitization also created new complexities regarding equitable access, privacy, and regulation. This article summarizes the evolving digital mental...
Unmet Mental Health Care Needs: Layered Marginalities in Older Adult Populations
Abstract: This article addresses the mental health care needs of three groups of older adults with layered marginalities: undocumented immigrants, those with serious mental illness, and those with intellectual disabilities. The needs and barriers related to mental...
Connecting Crime and Abuse Victims to Mental Health Services
Abstract: Older adult victims of abuse and crime have significant unmet mental health needs, with high rates of depression and anxiety. But few victims are offered mental health care, and there are no standardized, effective programs to address their specific mental...
Mental Health Task Sharing: Training Volunteers, Peers, and Interns
Abstract: In task-sharing models, specific mental health tasks typically delivered by a licensed mental health clinician are assigned instead to a non-licensed individual. These approaches may address unmet mental health needs in rural and other low-resource areas. A...
Mental Health Literacy Among Elders: What Do We Know, What Can We Do?
Abstract: For more than 2 decades, mental health literacy has been a topic of interest among behavioral health researchers. Despite the older adult population's significant growth, there is little information about how best to increase their mental health literacy....
Our Guest Editor: Passionate About Elders’ Resilience
Tobi Abramson may serve in two rather large day jobs—directing both geriatric mental health initiatives for New York City and the Mental Health Counseling Program at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT)—but we at ASA know Tobi as a deeply involved leader who is...
The Ibasho Model of Elder Empowerment and Community Ownership
Abstract: Aging is conventionally viewed as a process of decline, which marginalizes a fast-growing part of the world's population and is detrimental to elders' mental health. In contrast, the Ibasho model, led by eight core principles, empowers elders to co-create a...
See Me! Hear Me! Know Who I Am!
This piece originally ran in the Spring 1997 edition of Generations. The Editorial Advisory Board found it remains relevant to this day (if not more so) and pertinent to this issue on Mental Health, Aging, and Resilience. Bonnie was a beloved member of the American...
Post-Traumatic Growth and Aging
Abstract: Most older adults have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. This article explores the relationship between aging and post-traumatic growth (PTG). Increasingly, PTG is recognized as a phenomenon describing positive changes following an...
Alleviating Loneliness in Older Adults Through Creative Expression
Abstract: Loneliness has become a pressing concern for elders, impairing physical and mental health and eroding quality of life. Creative arts engagement is an attractive programmatic intervention, enabled by selective modulation of brain activity, and reinforced by...
The Cultivation of Psychological Resilience as an Older Adult’s Superpower
Abstract: Psychological resilience is vital to the well-being of older adults. A resilience framework acknowledges that challenges exist but emphasizes strengths. Resilience, a multidimensional construct, is influenced by the interaction of internal factors and...
The Impact of Ageism on Elders’ Mental Health
Abstract: Ageism is a pervasive issue with profound implications for mental health. Negative stereotypes and discriminatory attitudes can lead to feelings of isolation, anxiety, and depression in older adults. Ageism can affect self-worth and self-esteem, making...
A Note of Introduction
Dear Readers, It has been my privilege to guest edit this issue of Generations Journal on Mental Health, Aging, and Resilience. When asked why this topic matters, one need only think about the growth of the aging population and the anticipated increase in the number...
Suggested citation for articles in this issue: [Last Name(s), First Name(s)]. “Article Title.” Generations Journal, vol. [#], no. [#] [season and year (ex. Fall 2024)]. [URL]
About Generations Journal
Generations Journal is the quarterly journal of the American Society on Aging. Each issue is devoted to bringing together the most useful and current knowledge about a specific topic in the field of aging, with emphasis on practice, research, and policy.