Assess the challenges and rewards for counselors working with individuals in this stage of life
There are many challenges and rewards counselors can experience when working with the elderly. The biggest challenge would be death before the client has some sense of mental health relief. Since the psychosocial crisis associated with this lifespan is immortality versus extinction, a client experiencing feelings of fear of death and a hopelessness toward life, a counselor would need to have very focused intervention plans and strategies to assist the client due to limited timing. Another challenge could also include a client’s lack of social support. As a counselor in training, social support during this life stage would most likely have a beneficial …show more content…
The various way include an elder either seeing the future within one’s children; through a religious or spiritual belief system; through creative achievements; by seeing oneself as a participant in the chain of life; or in a belief that the self is a continuous being that evolves but is ever present (Newman & Newman, 2015). According to Lewis (2001), a counseling intervention known to be successful with older adults is when clients actively recall, evaluate and reintergrate unresolved memories that can lead to a reorganization and acceptance of the past and present self. For the client, this process can assist them moving from feelings of extinction toward feelings of immortality. For the counselor, the reward can be both the ability to assist their client establish a sense of integrity and knowledge that they may have done the best they could have done with the tools that had. Another reward for counselors working with this age group would include the focus and commitment they would apply toward their mental health. Finally, a reward for counselors working with this age group includes the client’s wellbeing has the ability to impact their life and the lives of those they are in close relationship with in the present time; thereby having the possibility to impact unresolved issues in relationships before the older client’s …show more content…
This crisis is composed of several challenges, many of which are associated with the negative polarity of the crisis called extinction (Newman & Newman, 2015). Extinction is described as an individual fearing their life and all they have experienced means nothing. Some challenges that may bring about this fear include an indivdividual’s inability to cope with losing much of their independence. This loss of independence is often associated with a frail body and mind. Another challenge associated with extinction is the death of a partner and individuals in one’s peer group. This can cause an elder to feel as if they are lonely and alone. Other challenges include financial instability or limited resources, employment concerns, and long term care (Dixon, Richard, & Rollins, 2003). In the psychosocial crisis of extinction, an elder that feels overwhelmed may be experiencing diffidence. Newman and Newman (2015) describe this feeling as an elder experiencing feelings of being overwhelmed and lack the ability to make daily decisions for themselves. Therefore social support and forming a community of caregivers is essential for the aged so that essential decisions can continue to be made either by the elder or on their
There are many challenges and rewards counselors can experience when working with the elderly. The biggest challenge would be death before the client has some sense of mental health relief. Since the psychosocial crisis associated with this lifespan is immortality versus extinction, a client experiencing feelings of fear of death and a hopelessness toward life, a counselor would need to have very focused intervention plans and strategies to assist the client due to limited timing. Another challenge could also include a client’s lack of social support. As a counselor in training, social support during this life stage would most likely have a beneficial …show more content…
The various way include an elder either seeing the future within one’s children; through a religious or spiritual belief system; through creative achievements; by seeing oneself as a participant in the chain of life; or in a belief that the self is a continuous being that evolves but is ever present (Newman & Newman, 2015). According to Lewis (2001), a counseling intervention known to be successful with older adults is when clients actively recall, evaluate and reintergrate unresolved memories that can lead to a reorganization and acceptance of the past and present self. For the client, this process can assist them moving from feelings of extinction toward feelings of immortality. For the counselor, the reward can be both the ability to assist their client establish a sense of integrity and knowledge that they may have done the best they could have done with the tools that had. Another reward for counselors working with this age group would include the focus and commitment they would apply toward their mental health. Finally, a reward for counselors working with this age group includes the client’s wellbeing has the ability to impact their life and the lives of those they are in close relationship with in the present time; thereby having the possibility to impact unresolved issues in relationships before the older client’s …show more content…
This crisis is composed of several challenges, many of which are associated with the negative polarity of the crisis called extinction (Newman & Newman, 2015). Extinction is described as an individual fearing their life and all they have experienced means nothing. Some challenges that may bring about this fear include an indivdividual’s inability to cope with losing much of their independence. This loss of independence is often associated with a frail body and mind. Another challenge associated with extinction is the death of a partner and individuals in one’s peer group. This can cause an elder to feel as if they are lonely and alone. Other challenges include financial instability or limited resources, employment concerns, and long term care (Dixon, Richard, & Rollins, 2003). In the psychosocial crisis of extinction, an elder that feels overwhelmed may be experiencing diffidence. Newman and Newman (2015) describe this feeling as an elder experiencing feelings of being overwhelmed and lack the ability to make daily decisions for themselves. Therefore social support and forming a community of caregivers is essential for the aged so that essential decisions can continue to be made either by the elder or on their