The risk of being older: Working with risk in older adults mental health services

Abstract

When working as healthcare professionals, we incorporate an array of narratives and structures which come with the role. It is our clinical responsibility to acknowledge and name different factors at play in different conditions, and we are trained to work and support teams with constructs such as vulnerability and power. Working with older people, other dynamics entering the picture are ageing, dementia and frailty. Risk is another example of such forces, an overarching concept which we need to be constantly aware of as professionals. This article will explore the concept of risk and what it means to be working with risk in community-based care for older people. The aim is to generate a conversation about common risks in the older population, challenging assumptions and offering a space for reflection on how to best explore and support.