Trauma and Aging

I am a drama therapist practicing through a pleasure-affirming lens. I advocate for those who are often desexualized or hypersexualized in society and thus at risk of violence, such as older adults, people with physical disabilities and people with intellectual...

Frances'* spouse was killed in a terrible car accident last year. She has been struggling with nightmares and depression ever since the accident, and while she is working with a psychiatrist and taking medicine, her children are concerned that she does not seem to be...

Most of us have felt the relaxation and rejuvenation that comes with sitting in a park, walking on a wooded trail, or gazing at a body of water. But as we age, it can become harder to access nature—and its benefits for mental health—due to mobility limitations, living...

Climate change has become a common household word in the 21st century. Yet despite its prevalence in mainstream media, surprisingly few people have considered the long-term psychosocial impacts of a changing climate and environment on physical and emotional health....

Caroline is an 80-year-old Black woman, widow and grandmother. She had a heart attack at age 66 and now has atrial fibrillation. She also has chronic low back pain and symptomatic osteoarthritis in both knees and hands, hearing loss and macular degeneration in both...

A couple years ago, my client was a Black man, Mr. Davis, age 85, who held a strong Jehovah's Witness faith and was in therapy due to he and his wife separating. This resulted in lowering his position in his Jehovah's Witness congregation. New medical issues were...