The dawn of a new millennium bears witness to rapid improvements in health and health care in the United States. The average life span of Americans has increased dramatically, and the population aged 85 and over has grown and will continue to grow well into the next century. The majority of older Americans cope constructively with the many changes that accompany the aging process. However, nearly 20 percent of the population aged 55 and older experience mental disorders that are not part of normal aging. A Report of the Surgeon General, the first-ever document of its kind dedicated to mental health, discusses mental health and mental illness across the life span, including a chapter on older adults.
Mental illnesses are real health conditions.
A growing body of scientific research has highlighted both the potentially disabling consequences of unrecognized or untreated mental disorders in late life, and important advances in psychotherapy, medications, and other treatments. When interventions are tailored to the age and health status of older individuals, a wide range of treatments is available for most mental disorders and mental health problems experienced by older persons, interventions which can vastly improve the quality of late life. Despite this progress, stigma, missed opportunities to recognize and treat mental health problems in older persons, and barriers to care remind us that we still have a great deal of work to do. In recognition of the importance of assuring mental health for older Americans, a reprint of the chapter of the Surgeon General s report on mental health and older adults has been released as a separate document. This is a valuable resource for service providers, policymakers and researchers, for by building on these initiatives we can begin to address the many challenges that face us in mental health and aging.