Like all social workers, Geriatric Social Workers work with not just the individual, but also the family and community at large. Often a Geriatric Social Worker’s clients may be individuals who are not necessarily “old” but are dealing with issues related to aging. It could be the middle aged overwhelmed caregiver of a 95 year old widow or the family who does not know what to do now that Dad (age 70) has a diagnosis of dementia. In order to improve the well being of an elder, often family members and community leaders are the client of the Geriatric Social Worker. In other words, the Geriatric Social Worker is charged to work with the whole system of the Older Adult client.

What Qualifications are needed for a Geriatric Social Worker? Geriatric Social Workers often have a Masters in Social Work with either a focus in their studies on aging, or/and a Licensed Social Worker or Clinical Social Work with a couple years of training working with older adult clients. Although there is not a specific license for Geriatric Social Work, the Geriatric Social Work Initiative is currently working to improve Social Work interest, understanding of aging issues, and training; particularly within the student population.

Below are some of the few places you may find a Geriatric Social Worker.

Nursing Home: Administrator; Admissions; Case Managers; Social Service Coordinator or Director; Activities Department Coordinator or Director; Counselor

Assisted Living Facility: Intake or Admissions; Case Manager; Activities Coordinator

Independent Residential Facility for 55+: Case Manager; Counseling; Social Service Director/Coordinator; Admissions Coordinator; Building Manager

Hospital: Case Manager inpatient or outpatient; Geri Psych unit,

Outpatient diagnostic or Rehabilitation Center: Case Manager; Counseling; Crisis worker; Educational Specialist; Research Coordinator.

Health Related Non-Profit: Administrator or Manager of a Program(s); Education of Public, Professionals, and/or Clients; Advocacy related work; Research related work, Case Management; Counselor.

Area Agency on Aging/Senior Center: Case Manager; Support Group Facilitator; Activities Director; Abuse Assessment.

Mental Health Agency: Case Manager; Counselor; Outreach Advocate

Caregiving For-Profit Agency: Care Manager; Marketing Coordinator; Intake Assessment

If you know of any other places you may find a Geriatric Social Worker make a comment! There are so many places you could find one!!!

Here is the post from a NASW blog – Is Hoarding a Big Deal?

After reading this post, I thought about a client I worked with a couple years ago. This women lived in an independent residential apartment building for seniors 55+. She was one of the first clients I had in my social work career. Here were my thoughts on hoarding.

{I have always been very intrigued by all that affects the older adult population. Hoarding, seems to be yet another ailment that plagues this population’s homes and lives. I agree with many of the other comments classifying hoarding as a mental health issue. I had a client in the past, that I felt, defined herself through her belongings. By losing a belonging it was as though she was losing part of her own self, her own identity. I also felt that she was able to cope through the other losses in her life; death, physical disability, etc. by hoarding more and more items. She was particularly interested in garage sale findings. How I made sense of this particular client, of course, will not fit other older adults. But, I felt this helped me understand what she was experiencing, enabling me to clinically identify the underpinnings of her compulsive hoarding.}

My question is, now what? If it is a mental health issue, how do we handle it differently? This was of categorizing the issue, of course, is apposed to a “quirk” or a style of living. Is there a drug to solve hoarding? Is there a treatment approach, similar to anxiety disorders? Can we use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?

]]> http://www.geriwork.com/2008/12/hoarding-a-mental-health-isssue/feed/ 1 http://www.geriwork.com/2008/11/comments-centenarians-grossly-underdiagnosed/ http://www.geriwork.com/2008/11/comments-centenarians-grossly-underdiagnosed/#comments Mon, 24 Nov 2008 15:40:50 +0000 Jaimie http://www.geriwork.com/?p=8 THE ARTICLE:

ScienceDaily (Nov. 24, 2008)  For many of the elderly, the golden years are anything but. Faced with health problems, financial issues and the death of a spouse or loved one, many adults 65 years and older suffer from depression. While research is emerging to help this group understand and treat the problem, another group – centenarians – has been left largely in the dark.

“Centenarians are still rare, and depression hasn’t been studied thoroughly in this group,” said Adam Davey, a developmental psychologist in the College of Health Professions at Temple University. “We’ve found that it’s a very under diagnosed condition among people over 100 years old, yet it’s one of the most easily treated forms of mental illness.”

…more than 60,000 people in the U.S. are 100 years old or over, and as baby boomers start to hit their 100-year mark, that number is expected to more than quadruple to 274,000. …a group of researchers have been studying this group more and more to learn about successful late-life aging…..Based on responses … by a sample of 244 centenarians, … more than 25 percent showed clinically relevant levels of depressive symptoms, yet only 8 percent reported having a current diagnosis of depression.

Davey notes that … a number of factors, including poor nutritional status, urinary incontinence, limited physical activity and past history of anxiety. “People who suffer from depression tend to have a high risk of mortality, so it’s puzzling to see higher numbers among the oldest old,” he said….researchers found that centenarians living in a community setting were found to have higher levels of depression than their younger counterparts. …it is important for doctors, nurses and even family members to focus on the larger picture to ensure a better quality of life.

“Caregivers often focus on the physical part of health,” he said. “Or, when they look at they mental health of older adults, they focus more on dementia. But depression is important to consider too – it’s not just something that younger people suffer from.”…

To read the complete article go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081124080810.htm

MY COMMENTS:

When I came across this article I was oddly pleased. I was happy to see that the scientific community is taking interest in the oldest old, a population that is commonly forgotten. We talk so much about baby boomers, and forget that there are plenty of older adults here and now that need assistance with issues associated with aging. As this article is suggesting, more focus is needed on the oldest old for mental health issues that are appearing to be more prevalent then once thought.

Many times, I think, the underdiagnosis of depression occurs in not only those 100 years of age, but from 75 up. At this point, the older adult is experiencing a lot of changes physically, which is affecting them socially and functionally. They may be losing sight of their independence as they suffer physically, emotionally, and socially. The medical community comes in contact with this population more than any other. They should be able to pick up on signs of depression, right? I feel that the reason this is not the case, is the stigma faced by this population. The medical community may look at them, and think, “Well, their old, and in pain, why wouldn’t they be sad.” Ok, maybe, but this snap judgment of the sad, old age folks cannot be a part of the very vital medical evaluation these patients need.

Let’s take our time and view our clients as not an old person who has every reason to be sad, but as a person who may be severely affected by their mood changes. These changes may very well be connected to their current experiences as they age, though depressed should not be viewed as a normal part of aging.

Case management, to some, is a proficiency, which can be performed by those with skill levels ranging from a high school degree to a Bachelor in Social Work.  Many professionals describe this talent differently, I will argue that this under-appreciated skill should not go unrecognized, as it is essential when administering a clinical framework with the older adult population.

It’s 4pm, time for your session with Mrs. Janet Rogers. Where is she? You think. She is late again. What does this mean? This type of behavior should be assessed as perhaps her lack of dedication to our work, and her inability to trust people.

This type of interpretation is more than reasonable when working with a population without the common obstacles of aging. What happened to Mrs. Rogers? Well, she attempted to clean her house for her upcoming traditional condo holiday party. Though due to her weak legs, achy back, and her inability to recognize how she is physically changing, she overworked herself as she cleaned all day. She felt pressure to clean, and failed to eat enough food to regulate her irregular blood sugar levels. Janet was worn out! She fell asleep as she waited for her ParaTranist car to arrive in order to arrive at the weekly session with you.

It seems, as my colleagues discover in their young practice, that time must be devoted to the daily needs of the client including house maintenance, food preparation, and medical issues, social activity, etc. In some agencies providing mental health services to the older adult population are be met by another division of the agency specializing in case management. Though, more frequently these issues must be understood and dealt with by the clinician.

This is the work that must be done in order for the work to be done. Perhaps as geriatric social workers we deserve a model that can offer a case management and a clinical combination specific to the commonalities of the older adult population?

Picture courtesy of Zsuzsanna Schreck. View more of her photos at Rocketcat.blogspot