Resources Available to Assist Depressed Seniors
Based on data from the National Institute
of Mental Health, 2 million of the 35
million seniors age 65 and older (nearly
6%) face depression and an additional 5
million have risk factors making them
likely to develop depression.
Recognizing that there was no cohesive
approach to providing mental health
information to states across the U.S., the
federal Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration recently
funded an Older Americans Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Technical
Assistance Center.
Another resource available to seniors is the
Positive Aging Resource Center (PARC),
a joint effort by Brigham and Women's
Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
Their website (www.positiveaging.org)
offers an interactive means of assisting
seniors and their caregivers to determine if
an individual might be depressed and
possible treatment plans.
Rather than simply listing facts about and
symptoms of depression, the website
introduces visitors to people who are
suffering from depression and offers real
life scenarios to which visitors can more
easily relate. Because of confidentiality
issues, the people whose stories are shared
are not actual individuals, but composites
of those interviewed by the PARC.
In addition to serving as a tool for getting
seniors on the right track regarding
diagnosing and treating depression, the
PARC hopes to lessen the stigma attached
to depression so seniors will seek
treatment. Depression is so often found in
those facing serious illnesses and financial
and social challenges such as retirement,
inability to drive, relocation, grief, etc., it
becomes accepted as typical, and
consequently no treatment is sought. The
PARC is on a mission to change these
perceptions.
Source: The Wall Street Journal, 10-5-05
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