Group Therapy for the Elderly

Essay # 60423

Aging > Gerontology
Medical and Health > Public Health Issues
Psychology > Therapies

This paper discusses group therapy, specifically within the context of the elderly, over the age of sixty-five.

1,425 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2005 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that group therapy for the elderly is perceived by some people to be valuable, but other patients' perceptions are that the process didn't help much. The author points out that the unique challenges for group therapy are the problems of (1) diminishing health faced by the elderly population, (2) the profound lack of respect towards the elderly often prevalent in this society, (3) the lack of dignity and independence and (4) the too-common occurrence neglect. The paper relates that accessibility is the key problem, but the inclusion of group therapy in managed care organizations, Medicaid and Medicare programs can increase accessibility for the poor and elderly.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Issue Statement
Literature Review
Evaluation and Reaction

From the Paper:

"I think that group therapy for the elderly should also be based on principles of family therapy whenever possible. The family must be placed in the context of the community and society within which it functions, both of which define parameters for function and dysfunction, success and failure, that can be inversely applied to the microcosmic family system. Therefore, different families have different societal contexts and different structural paradigms which affect them in terms of function and dysfunction. The structural family group therapy method remains malleable in the face of these cultural and societal distinctions, so that different families are seen in terms of different functional paradigms."