PLEASE UPLOAD EACH DISCUSSION SEPARATELY!!!!
Respond to the Classmate’s Discussion (below) as you would in a
face-to face class by stating why you agree and asking questions
pertaining to the discussion.
Discussion 1 (Stephanie)
The last couple of chapters of the book have been especially helpful for me. As I
mentioned in my other post for last week, the chapters about middle adulthood helped
with the clients I have in their 50s and these other chapters for this week have helped
me with one of my clients in her 80s. These are especially useful for me because I have
an obvious lack of experience in these age groups, except for what I’ve experienced of
others. Learning more about and reinforcing the knowledge I already have about these
stages of life has been incredibly helpful in my ability to hold space for and be attentive
to my clients, which I’m grateful for. My client in her 80s is struggling with the death of
her husband and many loved ones, the loss of mobility in her body, the decline of her
health, the changing of relationships between her adult children and adult grandchildren,
and her fears surrounding having to most likely move from the house and area she loves
to a facility because of her declining ability to care for herself and the loneliness she
feels. I may not know what that is like personally, but I can only imagine how vulnerable
and scary that feels! I am trying to help her to find some purpose in her life and to help
make some important changes, but, more than anything, I think she enjoys coming to
therapy just to have someone to talk to. She doesn’t have many people left and feels
discouraged to make more friends who are “just going to die”. What an incredibly
difficult place to be in! I have been encouraging her, nonetheless, to attend social groups
for the elderly and visit the close friends she does have as she does enjoy playing cards
and watching tennis with others. She has slowly started to show some interest and I am
hoping this grows!
Reference
Erford, B.T. (2017). An advanced lifespan odyssey for counseling professionals (1st ed.).
Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning
Respond to the Classmate’s Discussion (below) as you would in a
face-to face class by stating why you agree and asking questions
pertaining to the discussion.
Discussion 2 (James)
It is interesting to me that it says most MALES 65+ live with their spouse. It said 71% of
males were married, and 42% of females were married. Those numbers do not add up to
me. Can someone explain this better?
-I think it’s cool that people who are married seem to have better health and well-being
than people who are not married. I also wonder if part of it has to do with both spouses
keeping each other accountable for things like taking medication, going to the doctor,
and just knowing when something is off with their spouse.
-It surprised me that people who got divorced at an older age might have issues with
their adult children. I have heard people talk about not getting a divorce until their
children are older and can handle it better. To me, it kind of seems like adult children
take it hard too. We tend to think of how younger children will react, but I never really
thought about it having an impact on adult children. I do see how it can though. Adult
children are used to seeing their parents together when they come to see them, so I can
imagine it is hard to now have to split time and never see them together again.
-I think it is interesting that people have a higher risk of dying within 6-12 months after
their spouse passes away. I have seen many examples in my own life of people who were
married for a long time, not long from each other. More recently, my husband’s
grandparents passed within a year of each other after being married for 60 years. I have
always heard it was because the spouse who is still living feels like they have nothing to
live for anymore.
