191 Mental Health Concerns and The Older Adult
the Most of Leisure Time, Healthy Living, Using Medications Effectively, and Making the Most of a Healthcare Visit. The courses are designed to meet weekly and teach a new skill set at every session. Weekly sessions provide active engagement for the older adult with SMI, and a wide range of potential tool sets offers the opportunity to meet a greater number of needs. ● Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training (CBSST) : CBSST individualizes training framed around personal functioning in a group setting. There are three modules that target self-management, communication techniques, and interpersonal problem solving. Each module meets weekly for one month. Unique goals are set for the older adult with SMI based on their needs and capabilities. ● Health and Recovery Peer (HARP) : HARP is a mental health program with peer support inclusion for the older adult with SMI that evolved from the chronic disease self-management program. The six topics it covers are illness self-management, exercise and physical activity, pain and fatigue management, healthy and affordable eating, medication management, and the importance of continuity of physical and mental healthcare. HARP helps older adults with SMI set short- and long-term goals for all topics covered. ● Targeted Training in Illness Management (TTIM) : TTIM is a combination focus for older adults with SMI and comorbid diabetes. This approach contains two sections. The first section has a nurse educator and peer mentor running weekly
sessions for three months that address medication management, nutrition, exercise, substance use, problem-solving skills, engaging social support systems, and setting personal goals. The second half of the training is offered through telephone consultation with the goal of self- sustainment. The healthcare worker meeting the mental health needs of the older adult will most likely be collaborating with a team to maximize the quality of care. Older adults with SMI are more likely to need acute care and premature per- manent nursing home placement when compared to older adults without SMI; therefore, it is important to place greater emphasis on intervention and treatment options to increase autonomy (Bartels et al., 2020). A team approach between medical and psychiatric care is necessary for the healthcare worker addressing the mental health needs of the older adult with SMI. RECOVERY PRINCIPLES AND HEALTHY AGING Recovery and healthy aging should be initiated at the first psychiatric interview, systematically evaluated at every subse- quent meeting, and adjusted as needed for the older adult with mental illness. Re- covery is defined as the ability to over - come and adapt with positivity to any health disorder in order to reach one’s po- tential and life goals (SAMHSA, 2022c). Striving toward prioritizing recovery and healthy aging brings mental healthcare in the direction of biopsychosocial inter- ventions and functioning toward maximiz- ing the quality of care for the older adult. This is an important goal of every mental health interaction and will be unique to each older adult client. Healthy aging is
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