J. Neil Henderson

Aging and Ethnicity: Issues for Clinical Practice

Due to dramatic improvements in life expectancy among Americans from diverse ethnic groups, the “graying of America” is resulting in a particularly marked increase in ethnic diversity in late life. Clinicians must be prepared to address the problems of older ethnic minority patients, who present with distinct problems during late life and may present these problems in culturally prescribed ways. Cultural variations in views about the nature of mental disorders, issues in assessing and treating depression and dementia, and attention to issues of family caregivers are deserving of special attention.

Aging Ethnicity, and the Public: Policy Implications

Today, many Americans live to a &dquo;ripe old age&dquo; of 80 or 90 in spite of the fact that national programs such as Medicare and Social Security may not adequately meet their needs. There is now much concern that the aged may encounter more undue hardships in the future. A romantic poet, Robert Browning, once penned the very sentimental line, &dquo;Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be...&dquo; Many of the aged now wonder whether one can ever achieve the act of &dquo;gracefully aging.&dquo; If &dquo;majority&dquo; Americans are facing increasing difficulties in aging, how then

The Development of a Mental Health and Aging Curriculum

A multidisciplinary graduate curriculum in Mental Health Counseling of Older Adults is being developed at the University of South Florida with support from the Administration on Aging. Issues in the development of this curriculum are discussed in this report. Over the years, graduates of the gerontology master’s degree program have been employed in formal mental health settings, as well as in a variety of settings not specifically designated as mental health, but nevertheless offering counseling and other mental health services. They have not been adequately prepared by the general graduate curriculum. Graduates from many other social and behavioral science disciplines are also employed in mental health settings, many of whom have had limited opportunities for education in either mental health and/or aging. An additional pressure for training has come from a Florida statute licensing mental health counselors. This requirement has been imposed on graduates working in mental health, and in some cases these practitioners have been unable to meet the state licensure requirements. The curriculum development has also been based