Addressing Suicidality in Older Adults: A Community-Based Approach

• By: Catherine Thurston, LCSW Service Program for Older People (SPOP)
• January 14th, 2025
• addiction treatment, aging, community, mental health, older adults, suicide prevention, support programs, therapy, Winter 2025 Issue
• 103    0

In a review of data around suicidality, we see that older adults are highly vulnerable. The CDC reports that adults over age 45 account for more than 50% of deaths by suicide in the US, with the risk of suicide increasing with age. The national rate of suicide is highest among men over age 85 (45.9...

How the Pandemic Turned Behavioral Healthcare for Older Adults on Its Head

• By: Nancy Harvey, LMSW Service Program for Older People (SPOP)
• October 11th, 2022
• aging, anti-racism, behavioral healthcare, COVID-19, Fall 2022 Issue, frontline staff, older adults, pandemic, telehealth, training
• 1483    0

The past three years have brought about the greatest transformation in behavioral healthcare practices that I have seen in four decades. I have served as Chief Executive Officer of Service Program for Older People (SPOP) for 33 years. We provide community-based behavioral healthcare for adults...

Aging in Supportive Housing: One Fall Away from Institutionalization

• By: Rebecca Heller, LCSW The Bridge Lisa Furst, LMSW, MPH Vibrant Emotional Health
• April 1st, 2020
• accessibility, aging, older adults, supportive housing
• 1169    0

Lucy is a 62-year-old woman who has lived in supportive housing for over a decade. She has been treated for bipolar I disorder and has a history of suicidality. Like many older adults with mental health challenges, Lucy has several chronic health problems which are monitored by her primary care...