Personal Reflection and Discussion: Counseling Older Adults

Personal Reflection and Discussion: Counseling Older Adults
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Personal Reflection and Discussion: Counseling Older Adults
As with any other form of care, the primary purpose of psychotherapy is to alleviate pain, allow normal functioning, and, if possible, solve and prevent problems. Psychotherapy is as successful for older people as for younger ages, but there has been no definite advantage of one psychotherapy modality (Kisely, 2020). According to Kisely (2020), depending on the older patient and the presenting problem, psychotherapy may be either a primary or an adjunctive form of treatment. Besides practicing geriatric psychotherapy, understanding aged and older people's psychological characteristics have steadily increased (Davies, 2020). This paper presents an older patient I am counseling and who I think is not adequately progressing according to expected clinical outcomes. The article explores the therapeutic approach with the client, including the perceived effectiveness of my process. Lastly, it identifies additional information about the client that may potentially impact expected outcomes.
John is a 72-year-old widower and a retired professor. He was married to a woman named Susan, and the pair had no children or immediate relatives. After a stroke, John was admitted that led to eating apraxia, prolonged mental confusion, emotional disruption, mild balancing, and difficulties with postural control. Subsequently, he developed several anxiety and depression symptoms, which started after the death of his wife a few years earlier. He has seen a gradual worsening of his symptoms over the past few years that he believes are due to deterioration of chronic medical conditions, physical disorders, and diminished sexual functioning.
The approach used in this case is cognitive-behavioral therapy. The treatment started by offering a relationship in which John felt understood, accepted, and respected. I encouraged John to explain his issues and share many emotions. I gave him validation of the practical stresses that he was experiencing. As a therapist, I recognized that John's expertise and experience were apparen...