Working With Older Adults- A Worthy Investment
Photo by Mike Jones
By Sterling M. Hawkins, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW
Time is a constant that's bought, borrowed, and lost. We experience it as moving fast or slow, but never at a standstill. I first knew I wanted to work with older adults in my mid-twenties. When I entered graduate school to pursue my Master's in Social Work, I could have selected several age groups as a focus. However, I chose to focus on older adults. Perhaps because as a child, I was constantly around older adults and have vivid memories of seeing family members and acquaintances' age and the challenges they each faced in the process. And secondly, my desire to help seniors achieve their best life.
This month I reviewed the topic of Gerontological Social Work. To help me do this, I selected the book titled "The Practice of Social Work With Older Adults: Insights and Opportunities for a Growing Profession" by Mary Kaplan, MSW (Health Professions Press Inc., 2020). The author is a licensed clinical social worker who has worked in health care and geriatrics for over 40 years as a clinician, administrator, educator, and community activist. She is retired from the University of South Florida School of Aging Studies, has authored five books, and is an international speaker.
This book examines the challenges encountered in the practice of geriatric social work. In this concise work of roughly 200 pages, the author takes a vast topic and distills it into four main sections: [1] The Development of Geriatric Social Work, [2] Basic principles that social workers and other health care practitioners should be aware of when working with older adults, [3] Issues and Challenges in Late Life, and [4] Geriatric Social Work: Settings and Opportunities. Kaplan provides readers with illustrations using her own practice experiences and real-life client stories in each chapter. In her Epilogue, she gives an appraisal of the future for those interested in pursuing a career in geriatric social work. I selected this book because I am a geriatric social worker and had the opportunity to meet the author in 2019. I believe the book captures the essentials required to practice successfully with older adults.
In highlighting some aspects of the book that make the case for required knowledge for those working with older adults, Kaplan, in Chapter 2, defines the characteristics of older adults by citing general stereotypes and differences that often exclude the diversity of seniors, differences in the aging process, and the factors that influence how seniors are treated. Here she examines Sex and Gender, Health and Functioning, and the Influence of Culture and History on Older Adults.
In Chapter 6, Kaplan addresses the Mental Health of older adults, and in Chapter 7, Mental Competence. These two chapters contain a wealth of information and provide the reader with common types of mental illnesses found in older adults, in conjunction with vital diagnostic criteria and corresponding treatment interventions. I like that she identifies Mental Health Assessment Tools that aid practitioners in performing a standard mental health assessment. A Mental health diagnosis cannot be discussed without examining the concept of Mental Competence. In the chapter on Mental Competence, Kaplan identifies how Dementia ( the loss of memory, language, problem-solving, and other thinking abilities) corresponds with principles of decisional capacity and how determining mental competence and capacity in older adults can be tricky. Kaplan discusses the role of guardianship and several types often used by state courts that define the scope and powers for appointed guardians who assume decision-making responsibilities in caring for older adults.
Each chapter of the book begins with Key Points that provide the reader with what's important to know about the chapter. And at the end of each chapter, Kaplan provides Chapter Notes that reference her citations. I like how the author blends a macro view of each aging topic with her personal stories that illustrate the micro complexities of working with older adults. The book delivers on its aim to highlight the practice of working with older adults by examining the social demographics of aging, sticking to a fundamental approach, and presenting an honest appraisal of the challenges and rewards of working with this population. The text should be considered a standard for every social work student entering the field of Aging. The book has helped me remember what can easily be forgotten, even by seasoned professionals when working with seniors in sub-specialty settings.
Social Workers who work with older adults can and do help them improve their quality of life. Kaplan's lived experience, and extensive research is a testament to investing in the lives of those who may be looking back more than they are looking ahead. The good news is that each of us can practice more effectively with older adults by becoming more knowledgeable about the challenges and rewards of making a difference in the lives of older adults that we encounter, regardless of our area of practice.