Geropsychology

[zeldazelda]

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I would like to learn more about geropsychology. It seems like an underdeveloped and less talked about niche and yet demand is growing.

Anyone studying or researching geropsychology? If so, what sort of courses are you taking or reseach are you doing? If you don't mind sharing...

Also can anyone recommend any good books on the topic?

I did some poking around on APA, the web in general and Amazon and while there are books to be found, it is hard to know which is the best.

 

[hayley44]

oops.......

 

[hayley44]

if you happen to be in the los angeles area, the west los angeles VA has a geropsychiatry unit. even if you aren't in L.A., you can give them a call or find their website (though the VA website is notoriously hard to navigate...)

even if you dont, the VA is a great place to look. they typically have some unit of geriatric psychiatry, even if it isn't as formally structured as West LA's.

 

[JockNerd]

Aging populations are a really good area of research to get into if that's your thing. There's certainly quite a few people doing interesting work in all sorts of areas of aging, and you can get nice funding for the work. Many universities are incorporating middle-to-old-age developmental courses in curriculum in addition to the standard child and adolescent development courses. Taking one of those courses might be a good way to familiarize yourself with the research literature. If you university doesn't offer such a course, you could find a university offering one through distance ed or work with a prof on a directed studies course (those look fabulous on applications).

 

[irish80122]

I know you didn't ask about schools but West Virginia is a great school for anyone who is interested in aging. If you are looking for clinical, Dr. Amy Fiske could be a great fit. There are a lot of resources here including a Developmental program that truly focuses on the whole lifespan and a Gerontology department!

As for how to learn more about it, I would just start looking at the literature and research, but that is just how I do things.

 

[codetype4/9]

I'm a grad student developing a specialty in geropsychology and have done research and rotations in this area. I would be happy to answer questions you may have.

Right now I am working in a LTC doing therapy, neuropsych assessments, and a lot of consulting/in-service trainings with staff. Opportunities abound in this field and last year I snagged a nice grant to do applied research. It is also a very challenging specialty and that is why I enjoy it. Strong knowledge of pharm, health psychology, pain management, and neuropsychology are the ticket to being successful in this area as well as high degree of creativity in terms of intervention. I also spend a lot of time meeting with families, PCPs, and other caregivers and non traditional activities.

Book I'd recommend to get you started: Handbook of Assessment in Clinical Gerontology By Peter A. Lichtenberg

 

[zeldazelda]

Thanks to everyone for the tips.

I'm a grad student developing a specialty in geropsychology and have done research and rotations in this area. I would be happy to answer questions you may have.

Right now I am working in a LTC doing therapy, neuropsych assessments, and a lot of consulting/in-service trainings with staff. Opportunities abound in this field and last year I snagged a nice grant to do applied research...

If I may ask, what sort of research did you do with the grant?

...Book I'd recommend to get you started: Handbook of Assessment in Clinical Gerontology By Peter A. Lichtenberg

Picked up this book at the library yesterday. Thank you for the recommendation.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

This is a great population to work with, and with the BB generation aging now, there will be a large need. There are many VA opportunities, and I"m sure some research grants targeting our aging populations.

This is one of my least favorite populations, so you won't see me competing for work 😀, but I have friends who work in this area and they seem to be very happy with their opportunities. I'm in S. FL, so it is much easier to find work in this area, so YMMV.

-t

 

[Ollie123]

This is interesting because I just found out my lab submitted a moderate-sized NIH grant involving aging despite the fact that we are by no stretch of the imagination a geropsych lab.

I think the effects of aging on psychopathology is a largely understudied area (with the obvious exception of cognitive disorders). Not exactly my area, but I'm always open to trying out new research areas!

 

[Lunabin]

There is a geropsychology subdivision in the "Counseling Psych" Division of APA - run by Merla Arnold (she's pretty great). They do email out postdoc position announcements. I haven't found one under any Clinical division, though starting one would be a good idea.

I also found that Psychologists in Long Term Care http://www.wvu.edu/~pltc/
has been helpful in finding training.

I know I have more resources - I'll look more when I have time...

 

[Lunabin]

http://www.geropsych.org/students.t.html

Yeah, also go here. I'm sure APA has some good book rec's.