Social Work with Elders: A Biopsychosocial Approach to Assessment and Intervention

Social Work with Elders is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the process of providing social and mental health services to the elderly. This book covers the basics of biopsychosocial changes associated with the aging process through the assessment of strengths and challenges to the design and execution of problem-solving interventions. Social Work with Elders is intended to cover topics as basic as encouraging elders to exercise to the complex process of differential assessment and diagnosis of depression, dementia, or delirium. The topics covered throughout the book are relevant to practitioners working in social service agencies, nursing homes, congregate and assisted living centers, and adult day care. Unlike many other texts on gerontological social work, this text includes a more comprehensive array of topics within a single text. It provides the important human behavior in the social environment of elders and designing interventions. It includes the protocols for both traditional and nontraditional interventions, recognizing the amazing heterogenity of the aging population. In many respects, it can be considered "one stop shopping" for content on gerontological social work. Content on diversity regarding gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation is integrated into each chapter as it is relevant to the topic rather than begin isolated in a separate chapter. This approach helps students to incorporate the importance of cultural sensitivity at the time an issue is being discussed rather than to do so retrospectively.