Handbook of Psychosocial Interventions with Older Adults

In the past decade, evidence based practice (EBP) has emerged as one of the most important movements to improve the effectiveness of clinical care. As the number of older adults continues to grow, it is essential that practitioners have knowledge of effective strategies to improve both the medical and the psychosocial aspects of older persons' lives. The purpose of this work is to present systematic reviews of research-based psychosocial interventions for older adults and their caregivers.

The interventions presented focus on a variety of critical issues facing older adults today including medical illnesses (cardiac disease, diabetes, arthritis/pain, cancer, and HIV/AIDS), mental health/cognitive disorders (depression/anxiety, dementia, substance abuse), and social functioning (developmental disabilities, end-of-life, dementia caregivers, grandparent caregivers). For each of these areas the prevalence of the problem, the demographics of those affected, and the nature and consequences of the problem are discussed. The empirical literature is then reviewed. A treatment summary highlights the type and nature of research supporting the interventions reviewed and is followed by a conclusion section that summarizes the status of intervention research for the specified issue. A Treatment Resource Appendix for each area is included. These appendices highlight manuals, books, articles and web resources that detail the treatment approaches and methodologies discussed.

This book was previously published as a special issue of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work.

Sherry M. Cummings, Ph.D., is Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee. She is the current president of Association for Gerontological Education in Social Work (AGE-SW). Dr. Cummings was a John A. Hartford Gerontological Faculty Scholar, 2001-2003. Dr. Cummings’ research focuses on aging and mental health. Additionally, her research explores the impact of such mental health issues on familial caregivers. Her research has appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals in the social work, gerontological and mental health arenas.

Nancy P. Kropf is Professor and Director of the School of Social Work at Georgia State University. Her area of research and scholarship is late life caregiving relationships, with the focus specifically on the older care provider. Dr. Kropf was a John A. Hartford Geriatric Social Work Scholar (1999-2001I). In 2000, she held a visiting endowed chair at St. Thomas University in New Brunswick, Canada. She was the President of the Association of Gerontology Education – Social Work (AGE – SW), and is a Fellow, of the Gerontological Society of America. Dr. Kropf has numerous peer reviewed articles in the social work and gerontology literatures.