Humanistic Services for the Elderly
Authors: Dychtwald Ken 
Published: March 2007

Encouraged by radical demographic shifts, limited population growth, redefined male/female roles, and dramatic advances in preventive and medical health care, America is rapidly shifting from being a youth-oriented culture to one wherein the fastest growing segment of the population is the elderly. In the past one hundred years, the total U.S. population has increased by a factor of five, while the over-65 segment has multiplied an astounding eighteen times.

Reflecting this shift, a great deal of time, energy, money, and public concern is now being directed toward the needs and potential of the middle and later years of life. Correspondingly, the mental and physical health fields have begun to shift their focus away from the mental and physical needs of a youthful culture to those of a predominantly adult and elder population.

At present, however, most medical and counseling services for elders are not focused on eliciting health, joy, and vitality, but instead deal primarily with problem-oriented treatment, therapy, chemical prescription, and pass-the-time activities.

Nevertheless, without denying the importance of the more traditional approaches in appropriate situations, numerous new programs are beginning to demonstrate that vitalizing and stress-reducing exercise, interesting and meaningful social interaction programs, nutritional guidance and intergenerational exchange activities can go a long way toward enriching the lives of older adults while simultaneously improving health, well-being and self-esteem.

Although this new approach is still in its embryonic stage, it is most generally being identified as "humanistic gerontology" and is based on the underlying belief that aging can be experienced as a full and thoroughly rewarding growth and maturation process, that the later years can bring a unique freedom to learn, explore, and share, unburdened by intense social and economic competition, child rearing responsibilities, and worrisome jobs that frequently absorb enormous amounts of time in the earlier years of life. Inherent in this "humanistic" approach to health care is a deep appreciation for the unity of mind, body, and spirit, a strong emphasis on preventive education and self-responsibility, and the belief that growth, exercise, good nutrition, and meaningful interpersonal involvement are necessary ingredients in the healthy lifestyle.

Successful programs of this type include senior exercise classes; foster grandparent programs; oral history projects; elderhostels; emeritus college programs; health maintenance classes; senior center activities; intergenerational communes and communities; involvement in the creative arts such as music, dancing, and painting; peer discussion groups; co-counseling; journal writing; advocacy groups; public lectures and events; activities at Y's and churches and effective media such as the "Over Easy" television show.

Certainly no one method or technique will effectively remedy all of the problems of our older population. Yet, it becomes increasingly urgent that just as lifestyles, healthstyles, and aging patterns have changed in the past few decades, so must the helping professions change to become more directly relevant to the unique needs and potentials of our continually expanding elder population. And if the trend toward disease prevention, health promotion, personal growth and self-responsibility continues, it seems increasingly appropriate that more time, energy and money be focused on pursuing those activities, programs, and methodologies that support a humanistically styled, holistic approach to mental and physical health for elders.