Psychotherapy and behavior change with the non-institutionalized aged

This literature review discusses therapy with the aged person in the community. The discussion is based on the literature published since Rechtschaffen's review in 1959 [1]. The elderly are not receiving mental health services in proportion to their representation in the population or in proportion to their estimated need for such services. Major barriers to the utilization of such services by the aged are the prejudices of care providers, the poverty of the aged, and the lack of public commitment to the provision of services to this special population. A summary of the literature on the goals, content, and techniques of psychotherapy with the elderly client is presented and supports the conclusion that this therapy is different from similar work with the younger adult only in terms of a focus on different content areas. The potential contribution of behavior therapy to treatment programs for the elderly is discussed.