Ageism in Mental Health Assessment and Treatment of Older Adults

Introduction to the Section: On the Manifestations and Consequences of Ageism

“…Another common feature of these chapters is the emphasis on multiple jeopardies that older adults experience. The chapters demonstrate that ageism increases vulnerability in old age, which is often further amplified by impaired health status (Gewirtz-Meydan et al 2018;Wyman, Shiovitz-Ezra, and Bengel 2018;Fialová et al 2018), immigration status (Dolberg, Sigurðardóttir, and Trummer 2018), mental illness (Bodner et al 2018), dementia status (Evans), or a sensory decline (Ben-David et al 2018). These multiple vulnerabilities correspond with the chapter by Krekula et al (2018;Chap. 3) in the previous section, and support the need to view ageism in context, as part of other potential sources of discrimination.…”

“…Evans illustrates how older adults and having dementia become synonymous at times. In addition to other chapters in this section (Wyman, Shiovitz-Ezra, and Bengel 2018; Fialová et al 2018;Bodner et al 2018;and Ben-David, Malkin, and Erel 2018), this chapter stresses the pervasive and debilitating presence of ageism in the health care system. Clearly, ageism impacts older adults' access to health care services, as well as the quality and availability of services.…”

“…Moreover, ageism is well-internalized and impacts older adults through their belief systems and expectations, influencing social integration and their relations to other people (Shiovitz-Ezra et al 2018;Gewirtz-Meydan et al 2018). Ageism is also present at the meso-level, and manifests in interactions with professionals (Wyman, Shiovitz-Ezra, and Bengel 2018;Bodner et al 2018;Ben-David et al 2018). These may include a variety of health or mental health care professionals (Wyman, Shiovitz-Ezra, and Bengel 2018;Fialová et al 2018;Bodner et al 2018;Evans, Ben-David et al 2018) or long-term care workers (Gewirtz-Meydan et al 2018).…”

“…Ageism is also present at the meso-level, and manifests in interactions with professionals (Wyman, Shiovitz-Ezra, and Bengel 2018;Bodner et al 2018;Ben-David et al 2018). These may include a variety of health or mental health care professionals (Wyman, Shiovitz-Ezra, and Bengel 2018;Fialová et al 2018;Bodner et al 2018;Evans, Ben-David et al 2018) or long-term care workers (Gewirtz-Meydan et al 2018). Finally, ageism also occurs at the macro-level, as clearly illustrated in policies which discriminate against older immigrants (Dolberg, Sigurðardóttir, and Trummer 2018), older adults with dementia (Evans), or older adults with other health conditions (Wyman, Shiovitz-Ezra, and Bengel 2018).…”

“…Other chapters, such as the chapter by Bodner et al (2018;Chap. 15) on ageism in the mental health system, the chapter by Evans (2018;Chap.…”