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Aging and Older Adults
Session Type:: Symposia

Symposium 28 - Clinical Geropsychology: Recent Data Highlighting the Importance of Including Older Adults in Mental Health Research

Saturday, November 22, 2025
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CST
Location: Imperial 9, Level 4
CE: 1

Keywords: Aging, Evidence-Based Practice, Older Adults
Level of Familiarity: All
Recommended Readings: Laidlaw, K., & McAlpine, S. (2008). Cognitive behaviour therapy: How is it different with older people?. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 26, 250-262.,   Lederman, S., & Shefler, G. (2023). Psychotherapy with older adults: Ageism and the therapeutic process. Psychotherapy Research, 33(3), 350-361.,   Goodwin, V. A., Low, M. S., Quinn, T. J., Cockcroft, E. J., Shepherd, V., Evans, P. H., ... & Witham, M. D. (2023). Including older people in health and social care research: best practice recommendations based on the INCLUDE framework. Age and Ageing, 52(6), afad082.,   Salthouse, T. A. (2019). Trajectories of normal cognitive aging. Psychology and Aging, 34(1), 17–24. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000288,  

Older adults are often an afterthought in clinical research, if they are included at all (Goodwin et al., 2023). Although some aspects of aging involve positive affective changes (Shook et al., 2017), older adults continue to have psychiatric needs, many of which are complicated by changing cognitive (Salthouse, 2019) and physical functioning (Dickerson & Fisher, 1993). The treatment of older adults often requires adjustments to existing treatments or programs that were developed using middle aged and younger adults (Laidlaw et al., 2008). Ageist perspectives in mental health clinicians can also lead to inadequate treatment, particularly during the intake and case conceptualization phases (Lederman & Shefler, 2022).

This symposium will highlight recent research at the intersection of geriatrics and clinical psychology to better inform general mental health practitioners on how to integrate a lifespan perspective in their practice. The first presentation will report on the preliminary implementation and clinical outcomes of Engage, a brief, structured behavioral treatment designed specifically for late-life depression, for use with older adults with comorbid depression and mild cognitive impairment. The second presentation will demonstrate the lasting effect of adverse childhood events (ACEs) using the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study and how continued screening for ACEs is important when treating older adults. The third presentation will discuss the barriers and successes of a grass-roots movement to help with housing insecurity in a rural small town and the specific needs of older adults in that community. Finally, the fourth presentation will describe a city-wide needs assessment survey about grief and bereavement service engagement that highlight older adult needs compared with their younger counterparts.

Presenters have worked with older adults across a variety of care and research settings and will discuss the importance of geriatric variables in designing and implementing evidence-based treatment. The discussant is a clinical geropsychologist, deputy associate chief of staff for mental health at a large VA hospital, and PI of multiple clinical trials for the treatment of older adults. She will draw on these experiences to provide recommendations for researchers, clinicians, and policy makers.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify the impact of adverse childhood events across the lifespan.
  2. Describe the importance for tailored treatments for older adults.
  3. Compare the psychiatric needs of community dwelling older adults to younger adults.
  4. Discuss how housing insecurity has unique challenges for older adults.

Presentations:

  • 10:04 AM - 10:18 AM CST
    (SYM 28) Improving Depression in the Context of Co-occurring Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Feasibility Trial of Engage, a Behavioral Intervention for Older Adults

    Speaker: Brenna N. Renn, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    Co-author: Matthew Schurr, PhD – McLean Hospital

    Co-author: Aimy Paulsen, BA – University of Washington

    Co-author: Teresa Walker, M.A. – University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    Co-author: Rakshitha Mohankumar, M.A. – University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  • 10:18 AM - 10:32 AM CST
    (SYM 28) Adverse Childhood Events Continue to Impact Health, Even Among Older Adults

    Speaker: Ben Porter, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Mississippi State University

  • 10:32 AM - 10:46 AM CST
    (SYM 28) Grief Support Needs Across the Lifespan: Results from a City-wide Needs Assessment Survey

    Speaker: Rachel Weiskittle, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – University of Colorado, Colorado Springs

  • 10:46 AM - 11:00 AM CST
    (SYM 28) Starkville Strong: Successes and Barriers of a Community-led Response to Housing Insecurity in Rural Mississippi and the Impact on Older Adults

    Speaker: Caitlyn A. Nix, M.S. (she/her/hers) – Mississippi State University

    Co-author: Mary E. Dozier, Ph.D. – Mississippi State University