Rebecca Keller, MSW, LCSW, is an Outpatient Therapist with Welcare Counseling Services, a mental health care company providing counseling and medication management in the homes of older adults. Rebecca has over fifteen years of experience in the geriatric field, including counseling, case management, and corporate eldercare.
Before I walked into Mr. Smith’s apartment for his appointment, I knew that his wife had died just two short months ago. As a counselor, I was prepared to allow him time to share his feelings of grief, as well as talk about the stages of this journey. When he began to talk, he shared his recent struggles with Type II Diabetes. After a few minutes, he turned to me and asked, “How can you help?
How Counseling Can Help
Many people who have been referred for counseling may have the same question. Let me begin with the basics. Counseling is used to treat emotional disorders through strategies designed to encourage communication of conflicts and insight into problems. Counselors help people to cope with issues they face every day. Based on personal needs, one can participate in individual, group, and/or family therapy. To provide this service, professionals need to be licensed by NC licensing boards.
General Benefits of Counseling
I offer the following responses as general benefits of counseling:
• Helps the individual understand what helps them feel positive or negative
• Identifies an individual’s strong and weak points
• Encourages ways of coping with challenging situations
• Provides an opportunity to talk openly with a professional, objective person about your situation
Mr. Smith’s story indicates a variety of needs due to the death of his wife and a chronic medical condition. In late life, transitions can be viewed as “good transitions,” such as the birth of a grandchild, or “bad transitions” that challenge us. I met a resident in a senior living community who termed moving there was like “being an alien in a foreign land.” With these transitions, an older adult can feel both a loss of independence and a loss of functioning. By utilizing the benefits of counseling, a therapist can help this person become “at home” in this foreign land.
Depression can be a result of some of these losses. Symptoms such as loss of interest in activities, feeling sad or empty, increase or decrease in sleep and appetite, and feelings of worthlessness can indicate depression.
Anxiety is also a common diagnosis that benefits from counseling. Again, it may be that these symptoms begin as a result of changes in later life, or they may be ones that have existed earlier. The anxiety and worry is often “excessive” and difficult to control. Feeling restless or on edge, easily fatigued, irritable, muscle tension, difficulty concentrating, or problems sleeping are symptoms for which you would want to consult a counselor. With both depression and anxiety, a common approach in counseling is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This type of treatment addresses the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Since our behaviors become routine over a period of time, CBT can modify the way we think in order to change identified behaviors.
How Do I Get Started?
Talking with your doctor or the Area Agency on Aging can be a great way to find a counselor. Write down questions that you have about counseling, as well as what you are looking for in a counselor (i.e. experience, techniques, and availability). Once you schedule your initial appointment, you can expect the following:
• The therapist will meet with you to talk about your current situation, namely, what caused you to seek counseling. The therapist will also want to gather other information to get to know you.
• You and the therapist will decide how often you would like to meet as well as what time works with your schedule.
• Simple goals will be established by you and the therapist as you begin working together. These will be reviewed periodically during your meetings.
If you have any questions about counseling or feel that you may benefit, let’s talk about it!