A Unique Model for Training Mental Health Professionals to Work With Older Adults

Outcomes of a Comentoring Project: Inspiration and Admiration

“…OwenSmith (2008) referenced the close connection and inseparable nature of emotional and cognitive understanding, previously described by William James in 1884. Zucchero (1998) has described the importance of incorporating the emotional dimension of student experiences, along with the cognitive and behavioral components, in the process of learning. Hence, the prominence of affective content in the students' personal reflections may not be surprising and might be related to students' cognitive experience and benefits of the project.…”

“…Owen-Smith (2008) describes service-learning involving affective learning, which is currently a focus in higher education. If students process information on a deeper level and in a meaningful manner, such as that which occurs in the process of reflection, then they may be more likely to retain material learned in class (Zucchero, 1998). Moreover, the quantity and quality of reflection are predictive of service-learning outcomes (Eyler & Giles, 1999).…”

Reinventing Gerocounseling in Counselor Education as a Specialization

“…Researchers have argued that mental health practitioners who counsel older adults should be familiar with the unique life circumstances they face (Agresti, 1992;Gatz, Karel, & Wolkenstein, 1991;Johnson & Rosich, 1997;Myers, 1995;Myers & Blake, 1986;Schwiebert, Myers, & Dice, 2000;Stickle & Onedera, 2006;Zucchero, 1998). The baby boom cohort, which is the next generation moving toward the later years, will face unique challenges and circumstances as they age based on their sociohistorical context (Long, 1990;Taylor & Hartman-Stein, 1995).…”

“…As we all know, mental illness can occur at any point on the lifespan; however, these age-related circumstances will make the baby boom cohort unique compared to other age groups. Mental health providers working with this population may need to consider seeking gerontological training to better understand these circumstances (Zucchero, 1998). For professional counselors, finding specialty training in gerocounseling may be difficult.…”

“…For a more detailed description of each curriculum model and how they could be used to integrate gerontological content into counseling programs, we refer you to the following articles (Myers, 1994;Myers & Blake, 1986;Stickle & Onedera, 2006;Zucchero, 1998).…”