Geriatric Counselling

Being healthy and feeling your best is important at any age.

As we age, we get to see many major life changes like career transition, retirement, children leaving home, loss of loved ones, physical and mental health challenges. More than anything, loss of independence affects an individual. Many are not well equipped to manage these challenges. Lucky are the ones who are prepared or have that kind of a support from the family. At times family wants to support but they do not know how to.

Ageing causes changes in: brain size, vasculature (blood vessels) and cognition.  As we age our brain shrinks in volume and size, the pressure of blood in the vasculature (blood vessels) rises which further leads to stroke and ischemic (reduced blood flow) in the brain and also memory decline is associated with ageing.  One can experience chemical changes, hormonal changes and of course the changes due to the life experiences which cannot be negated. 

Burden of mental health disorders is increasing in the elderly due to various reasons discussed above.  The mental disorders frequently encountered in Indian elderly include dementia and depression.  Other disorders include anxiety disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, delirium and psychosis.

Other issues disturbing the Elderly:

  • Loss of youth and vigour
  • Financial dependency
  • Mobility dependency
  • Chronic illness
  • Disability
  • Hearing impairment
  • Loss/blur of vision
  • Insomnia
  • Being alone
  • Loss of loved ones etc

After facing life’s ups and downs; facing the challenges and eventually overcoming them; having had a productive family life and work life; and then to live a life altogether different may become difficult to many elderly.  Some may not even cope with the changes that old age poses. When faced with such situations approaching  geriatric counselling can help.  

Geriatric counselling will enable elderly clients to cope with the changes and learn to manage the losses they experience.  It also gives them time and privacy to discuss thoughts and feelings they may be experiencing, manage their emotions, find new ways of enjoyment and meaning, find new support systems, etc.

What we do at ThreeWaves

  • Counselling to the elderly consists of one-on-one sessions or group sessions. Online mode is available to the clients who cannot be physically present for the counselling. It’s usually a 60 minutes session. Number of sessions depends on the individual cases.
  • Elderly need to be listened. First and foremost, emotional need of an elderly is that they want to be heard. At Threewaves, we allow the elderly to express all their feelings without being judgmental.
  • We have techniques and tools to assess the mental health of the elderly.
  • After the assessment, depending on the outcome (some clients may need medication), we refer the client to our specialists like psychiatrist or clinical counsellors for further clinical diagnosis if found to have any signs of mental illness: severe depression, anxiety, dementia, delirium, alzeimer’s, schizophrenia, bipolar, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, etc.
  • We continue with the counselling services, while having referred the client to the specialists for clinical diagnosis.
  • Many clients require only counselling services or talk therapy. We use various techniques and tools to equip the client to face their challenges.
  • Homework assignments are given to improve their condition.
  • Psycho education to the client and family members regarding the issue and family support. Many times, not being aware of the condition, creates confusion to the client and the family. Psycho education about the issue helps the client and the family to a large extent.
  • Follow up after termination of counselling sessions.

The good news about elderly mental health is that it is a treatable condition. In addition to the possibility of clinical intervention through the use of prescribed medications or therapy, there are a number of activities and resources available to help the elderly.

Learning to adapt to change and healthy ageing, also means finding new ways and means of enjoyment, staying physically and socially active, and feeling connected to your community and loved ones

  • Acceptance of reality
  • To be physically and mentally active by doing regular walking/exercise, playing mind games/puzzles.
  • Learn new hobby. Thanks to the technology. Free tutorials are available on the internet.
  • Spending time with a pet
  • Meditation and prayers.
  • Initiate and involve in group activities like yoga, laughing exercise, meditation etc in local parks
  • Have short term goals and work towards them
  • Always remember there are people who love you, care for you and support you. All you need is to seek support when necessary.
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