Doctoral clinical geropsychology training in a primary care setting

Richard A. Zweig, Lawrence Siegel, Steven Hahn, Gail Kuslansky, Kathy Byrne, Denise Fyffe, Vicki Passman, Douglas Stewart, Gregory Hinrichsen

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Most older adults diagnosed with a mental disorder receive treatment in primary care settings that lack personnel skilled in geropsychological diagnosis and treatment. The Ferkauf Older Adult Program of Yeshiva University endeavors to bridge this gap by providing training in geriatric psychology, through coursework and diverse clinical practica, to clinical psychology doctoral students within a large urban professional psychology program. In an innovative effort to provide the most disadvantaged elderly with comprehensive mental health treatment and maximize trainee exposure to an interdisciplinary treatment model, the program also pairs selected doctoral psychology trainees with medical residents to optimize integrated mental health service delivery for primary care elderly. The program has the following core objectives: (1) Infuse the mental health and aging knowledge base into the regular graduate curriculum; (2) Provide interdisciplinary training in geropsychological diagnostic and consultative services within an urban primary care setting; (3) Provide interdisciplinary training in the practice of psychological and neuropsychological evaluation of elderly; (4) Provide training in geropsychological psychotherapeutic intervention, including individual, couples/family, and brief/psycho-educational therapies with outpatient older adults. These objectives are achieved by pooling the resources of a graduate school of psychology, a local public hospital, and an academic medical center to achieve educational and clinical service goals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)109-129
Number of pages21
JournalGerontology and Geriatrics Education
Volume25
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Elderly
  • Geropsychology
  • Interdisciplinary
  • Primary care
  • Training

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