1st Edition

The Forgotten Aged Ethnic, Psychiatric, and Societal Minorities

By T.L. Brink Copyright 1994
    124 Pages
    by Routledge

    116 Pages
    by Routledge

    This helpful book explores mental health issues relating to elders who do not fit into the “usual” mold for research--white, married or widowed, urban or suburban persons with adult children. The Forgotten Aged focuses on those groups of elders often overlooked in gerontological literature--elder African-Americans, rural aged, gay and lesbian aged, parents of developmentally disabled offspring, older developmentally disabled persons themselves, and “orphan” elders (those who do not have close family members who can serve as caretakers). The book offers “how to” advice on issues such as outreach, intervention, residential placement and transition, assessment, psychotherapy, and team building to help readers learn effective ways of helping elderly persons from these various groups. With an optimistic tone, it explores how more attention and resources, combined with flexible modifications of programs and practices, can yield favorable results for everyone involved.

    In The Forgotten Aged, authors examine a variety of pertinent topics including:

    • assessment of dementia and depression in African-Americans
    • multidisciplinary team outreach to elderly living in rural areas
    • therapeutic issues with gay and lesbian aged
    • residential transitions for developmentally disabled elderly
    • helping aging parents of developmentally disabled offspring
    • intervention with “orphan” elderly with Alzheimer’s disease

      Social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, nurses, and counselors involved in providing support and care for elderly persons will find The Forgotten Aged a useful guide in their daily work and decisionmaking. This book can also serve as an enlightening supplementary text in courses that study aging and the elderly.

    Contents Introduction
    • I. Assessment of Ethnic Minorities
    • Use of the Mini-Mental State Examination in African American Elders
    • Assessing Depressive Symptoms in African American and Mexican American Elders
    • II. Outreach to the Forgotten
    • Elderly Orphans with Alzheimer’s Disease: Non-Traditional Support Systems
    • Therapeutic Issues with Gay and Lesbian Elders
    • Practice with Older Parents of Developmentally Disabled Adults
    • Facilitating Residential Transitions of Older Adults with Developmental Disabilities
    • Mental Health Outreach to Rural Elderly: Service Delivery to a Forgotten Risk Group
    • Reference Notes Included
    • Index

    Biography

    T. L. Brink, PhD, is currently on the faculty of Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, California, and Loma Linda University. He is a member of the International Council of Psychologists, the International Psychogeriatric Association, the National Social Science Association, the Western Psychological Association, and the Midwestern Psychological Association. The American Psychological Association named him a Distinguished Visitor in 1984. During his career, Dr. Brink has developed the International Version of the Mental Status Questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Hypochondriasis Scale (Institutional Geriatric), the Scale for Paranoia (Observer Rated Geriatric), and the Stimulus Recognition Test. His books include Geriatric Psychotherapy (Human Sciences Press, 1979; Imago, 1983); The Middle Class Credo (R&E, 1984; Fawcett Gold Medal, 1985); Clinical Gerontology: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention (The Haworth Press, Inc., 1986); The Elderly Uncooperative Patient (The Haworth Press, Inc., 1987); Mental Health in the Nursing Home (The Haworth Press Inc., 1990); and Hispanic Aged Mental Health (The Haworth Press, Inc., 1992). He has published over 300 articles, chapters and reviews. Dr. Brink has been the editor of the journal Clinical Gerontologist since 1982.