What developmental factors must be considered in therapy?

Question

ANSWER:

Answer 1

In the event that a person is assessed and diagnosed properly, the two main forms of treatment are medical treatment and psychotherapy. Medical treatment most often involves the use of various medications. With older adults, one has to be careful because they may metabolize medications differently than younger individuals. Getting the right dosage of medication is important. Also, medications that work for one age group may not for another. Older adults take more medications than other age groups, so interactions must be watched for. If there are cognitive impairments, it is important to make sure the client does not over- or under-take their medication(s). In therapy, clinicians need to be sensitive to the needs of older clients. They need to examine their own positive and negative biases regarding older adults. A new positive approach to working with older adults has been proposed that focuses on promoting successful aging.