-
The Best We Can Do
This is a personal story told by a mental health professional. It is an easy story to tell because it is happening as I am telling it. It is the story of two women. These two women are 90 years old and have lived full and productive lives, lives consisting of a myriad of gifts, tragedy,...
-
ElderCare Services Address “Hidden Epidemic” of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Among Older Americans
As baby boomers, many of whom experimented with drugs in the 1960s and 1970s, head towards their senior years, the number of older Americans with substance use disorders is growing dramatically and with it the need for specialized treatment. Odyssey House’s ElderCare program has focused on the...
-
Elder Abuse: A Commitment to Awareness and Prevention
With an increasing life expectancy and an aging American society, the challenges of later life adulthood are becoming increasingly important. Therefore, it is essential that those who help manage and coordinate care for the elder population be attentive to both normal and problematic issues of...
-
Does Medicaid Redesign Pay Enough Attention to Older Adults with Behavioral Health Needs?
Major changes to the behavioral health system in New York State are underway at the same time that there is rapid growth of the population of older adults. Will the transformation of the behavioral health system benefit older adults? It could, but it is not at all clear that it will because there...
-
Behavioral Health of Older Adults: Addressing Cultural Issues and Implementing Integrated Care
According to Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development, successful achievement of the developmental task for older age results in ego integrity when one is contemplating one’s accomplishments and perceives oneself as leading a successful life. However, some people are dissatisfied with...
-
Barriers to Service for Baby Boomers with Dual Diagnosis
Across the board, people battling mental health issues are far more likely to suffer from problems with substance use than the general population. One-third of all people with mental health issues and one-half of all people with severe mental illness suffer from a dual diagnosis with coexisting...
-
Aging, Mental Illness and the Years Ahead: A Consumer’s Perspective
Having a mental illness, I try not to burden myself by thinking too much about the future. As I turn fifty-seven this fall, I do worry about how I will be able to function in the years to come. For people like myself who suffer from undue anxiety, there is no shortage of worries. We all face an...
-
Acquiring Financial Skills for Career Advancement
As mental health professionals advance in their careers to higher positions, they will be called upon – particularly in the roles of manager, director, and executive director – to provide additional contributions in the area of financial management to ensure the organization’s continued...
-
With Older Adults, The Work Continues
Working with older adults who struggle with substance abuse is extremely complex. Each individual has a different story to tell. Many older adults, who have used substances over the course of their life spans, often have a tremendous amount of shame, remorse, and sadness. Many of these individuals...
-
Whole Health Peer Support: Improving Health Disparity Among Individuals with Serious Mental Health Challenges and/or Addictions
Recovery Innovations is one of the largest employers of peer support providers in the world. Our peer workforce is about 600 strong and counting. Back in 2000, we began to identify significant vulnerability in the health of our workforce as well as the health of the people they were serving....
