Clinical Geropsychology: Recent Data Highlighting the Importance of Including Older Adults in Mental Health Research
3 - (SYM 28) Grief Support Needs Across the Lifespan: Results from a City-wide Needs Assessment Survey
Saturday, November 22, 2025
10:32 AM - 10:46 AM CST
Location: Imperial 9, Level 4
Keywords: Aging, Evidence-Based Practice, Older Adults 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,
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO, United States
Abstract Body Grief manifests differently across the lifespan, leading to varying needs for community grief services based on age. This presentation highlights age-related differences identified through a city-wide needs assessment survey on grief support availability and accessibility. 668 community members (ages 18 to 65+) completed the survey. The largest proportion of respondents were aged 18-29 (n = 358, 54%), followed by those 65 and older (n = 186, 28%), ages 50-64 (n = 71, 11%), and ages 30-49 (n = 52, 8%). Findings revealed both commonalities and distinct differences between age groups in terms of loss experiences, past participation in grief services, willingness to engage in future services, and perceived barriers to participation. Notably, respondents aged 65 and older reported significantly higher lifetime loss, with 100% indicating they had experienced the death of a significant person. Despite this, older adults and those aged 30-64 reported similar rates of prior engagement with grief services. Interestingly, while older adults reported fewer barriers to accessing grief services, their likelihood of participating in future services was comparable to their younger counterparts. These results suggest that although older adults endure the most cumulative loss, they are not the most likely to seek grief support. Instead, each age group exhibits a unique pattern of service preferences and needs, the details of which will be explored during the presentation, along with thematic analysis results of qualitative responses across age groups.
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