The Aging Family

As the population of the United States ages, and the lifspan increases, so does the number of living generations. The mental health care delivery system therefore faces new challenges. The United States is heading into the 21st century with multigenerational families now commonplace, with up to four or five generations co-existing at the same time. And each generation is forced to deal with its own developmental transitions as well as complex cross-generational issues. When a therapist steps into this situation, his or her role has to take on board the complexity of the whole family system.; This text highlights the issues that hold families together and often tear them apart. It offers core perspectives that seek to make the work of intervention easier and more effective for the clinician. Whether the therapist is called upon to intervene on behalf of elder members to deal with issues such as depression, or to step in when younger members are trying to determine how best to provide eldercare, the perspectives presented in The Aging Family aim to enrich the strategies used.

Terry D. Hargrave, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Psychology at Amarillo College. His teaching and research focus on the psychology of marriage and family, highlighting intergenerational issues. Dr. Hargrave lectures internationally on issues of later life. He is the author of Families and Forgiveness: Healing Wounds in the Intergenerational Family and coauthor of Finishing Well: Aging and Reparation in the Intergenerational Family., Suzanne Midori Hanna, Ph.D., is both Associate Professor and Program Director in the Family Therapy Program, Kent School of Social Work at the University of Louisville. She is coauthor of The Practice of Family Therapy: Key Elements Across Models. Dr. Hanna is also in private practice.

The Aging Family; Prologue, Harvey Joanning; Part 1 Family Therapy and Later Life; Chapter 1 Integrating the Process of Aging and Family Therapy, Suzanne Midori Hanna, Terry D. Hargrave; Chapter 2 Aging, Terry D. Hargrave, Suzanne Midori Hanna; Part 2 Models of Treatment; Chapter 3 Finishing Well, Terry D. Hargrave, William T. Anderson; Chapter 4 Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with Aging Families, Marilyn J. Bonjean; Chapter 5 A Developmental-Interactional Model, Suzanne Midori Hanna; Chapter 6 The Strength-Vulnerability Model of Mental Health and Illness in the Elderly, Cleveland G. Shields, Lyman C. Wynne; Part 3 Special Issues; Chapter 7 Changing Roles and Life-Cycle Transitions, Mary A. Erlanger; Chapter 8 Marriage in Middle and Later Life, Richard B. Miller, Karla Hemesath, Briana Nelson; Chapter 9 Gender Issues and Elder Care, Nancy L. Kriseman, Jacalyn A. Claes; Chapter 10 Alzheimer's Disease and the Family, Janie Long; Chapter 11 Family Systems and Nursing Home Systems, Wayne A. Caron; Chapter 12 Reconciling with Unfulfilled Dreams at the End of Life, Wayne E. Oates; Chapter 13 Dying and Death in Aging Intergenerational Families, William T. Anderson; Part 4 Implications for the Future; Chapter 14 Future Directions for Family Therapy with Aging Families, Suzanne Midori Hanna, Terry D. Hargrave, Richard B. Miller;