Generational Considerations for Counseling Older Adults

Advances in health care are providing for greater longevity among older Americans. The result is an increasing proportion of elderly on the caseloads of speech-language pathologists, a pattern likely to continue. When counseling older adults, special caveats related to generational identification and contextual factors must inform counseling interactions. Younger clinicians may demonstrate communication styles and behaviors influenced by biases about older adults that interfere with potential effectiveness. Careful training of clinicians in both geriatrics and counseling may improve outcomes; however, such training is limited in most graduate programs. This paper discusses work with older generations and possible solutions for training future clinicians to be best prepared for this aspect of our service.