Jan 6, 2016 By: admin
Ferkauf Older Adult Program Profiled on American Psychological Association Website
A joint initiative from 樱花动漫鈥檚 and Jacobi Medical Center, the , is one of just six programs to be showcased in a video series on the American Psychological Society鈥檚 website. The series provides a behind-the-scenes look at how psychologists in integrated healthcare settings contribute to improved patient satisfaction and better wellbeing by working collaboratively with physicians, patients and families.
Recognizing that elderly patients often struggle with issues whose roots can lie in a combination of medical, psychological and social factors, Ferkauf鈥檚 Older Adult Program trains doctoral students in the emerging field of clinical geropsychology by immersing them in integrated care teams focused on a holistic approach to patients鈥 health. Working together with medical professionals and other services as needed, trainees in the Ferkauf program help identify and treat psychological phenomena which may be impacting an elderly patient鈥檚 overall health or are intertwined with medical issues in ways that could result in emotional consequences which may go unnoticed at a standard primary care appointment. The program also helps to lessen the stigma of seeking mental health treatment for older patients by making the services available at the same time and place as their other medical appointments.
鈥淭he typical patient we see is a patient who hasn鈥檛 been seen in the mental health services before, hasn鈥檛 had any type of mental health consultation and may not even think of their problem as a behavioral problem,鈥 said Dr. Richard Zweig, director of the Older Adult Program and associate professor of psychology at Ferkauf. 鈥淲e train our medical residents and doctoral trainees to understand how to begin the conversation with such a patient. In doing so, we hope to train the next generation of medical and psychological professionals to meet the mental health care needs of the growing population of older adults in the United States."
Ferkauf鈥檚 is the only program in the New York metropolitan area to provide doctoral-level training to psychology graduate students in clinical work with older adults.
