Place therapies for older adults: Conceptual and interventive approaches

The study of glace transitions-moves between places as well as changes occu rring in environments of elders who age in glace-is a relatively new, diver se research area of high relevance for adult developmentalists and gerontol ogists. This article explores the usefulness of a tractable model of enviro nmental stress and proposes three potential "place therapies" that may mini mize the negative impacts of place transitions upon older adults. Specifica lly, a transactional model of environmental stress linked to behavior setti ng theory is proposed for understanding both positive and negative outcomes associated with different kinds of place transitions. Three distinct "plac e therapies" are considered as interventions that may hold promise for prev enting, ameliorating, and enriching the diverse impacts of place transition s on older adults and their environmental milieu.