As the baby boomers age here in the U.S., they are going to swell the ranks of seniors. And senior care — especially mental health care — is one of the most ignored in America. We act as though seniors don’t matter much, and few health care and mental health care professionals go into specializations, such as geriatric psychology, that can help senior citizens.
Perhaps that will change, with more attention and focus provided on this group of people. Because as we age, we often face many of the same difficulties as we did earlier in life.
Except these difficulties are often amplified, because of the loss of social support — our friends — and isolation — most often from our own family.
The New York Times profiles Marc E. Agronin, M.D., a geriatric psychiatrist to showcase the mental health challenges of our aging population.