by Rachelle de Bretagne

Created on: May 15, 2007   Last Updated: May 16, 2007

Psychology works in relationships right through the spectrum from childhood to old age, and Geropsychology relates to that psychology employed with older adults.

How psychology works is that it is a manner of looking at behavior patterns and why they are happening in an effort to improve the quality of life of the patient. At an older age, the problems are very different because what comes into play are all the changes that health causes and although many illnesses are not related to damage to thinking processes, they are certainly important in the manner that the elderly person approaches their lives.

For example, someone who is chronically ill will find that their chronic illness weighs them down, and can go through periods of depressive mood, linking the physical with the psychological. There has always been a link between the two concepts, since those illnesses that inflict constant suffering will eventually to some extent also alter the conception of the older person's reactions and their levels of acceptance.

A certain amount of geropsychology can be employed by family members in trying to rehabilitate elderly relatives who find themselves at that juncture in their lives where they can no longer cope. Looking at the practical aspects, and talking to the patient about what their difficulties are, the family or close friends are actually working through one of the essential processes of psychology in tackling the problem at source.

Certain illnesses will mean that a patient's cognitive values are strained, that they get disorientated, suffer dementia, and at some time during an illness like this psychological assessment will have to be made to ensure that the patient is in fact safe within the realms of their own home, or whether their condition makes it impractical for them to live at home alone.

The assessments by psychologists will reveal the mental ability for the patient to cope, though it is my experience that tackling the problems the elderly person experiences that are logical ones, and meeting the needs of the patient before employing a psychologist can greatly help the patient to extend their life in their own home environment.

For example, nursing aid may be all that is needed to help with those areas where an elderly person cannot cope. There may be periods when the patient needs help and supervision for exercise, mental stimulation, or even moral support that may be possible to tackle. Exercise should always be supervised and approved by doctors, although that little bit of movement can greatly help a patient psychologically. A trip out of the house in the wheelchair may give them the psychological stimulation that they need, or audio books give them the mental stimulation.

Having exhausted all areas of self help, the psychologist will assess the behavior patterns of the patient, their cognitive ability, and assess whether that patient needs in hospital treatment, or whether they can cope within their own home environment, arranging follow up calls at intervals to work on not only psychological acceptance of illness and getting old, but also on developing ways forward, talking about ongoing problems but also deep rooted ones that a person at this stage of life may be encountering.

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