Promoting mental health, treating mental illness. Broadening the focus on intervention

Geriatrics is pleased to welcome Gene D. Cohen, MD, PhD, as "The Psychiatric Consultant" series editor for 2002. He is the author of more than 150 publications in the field of aging, including a book for the general public, "The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life," published in 2000 by Harper Collins/Avon Books. He was the primary investigator of a 25-year longitudinal study of ill older adults that evaluated problems ranging from depression and dementia to living independently in the community. During 1991-93, Dr. Cohen served as acting director of the National Institute on Aging. In this first article, he discusses his goals for the series and highlights some of the topics planned for this year.