Psychotherapy in geriatric long-term care

Psychotherapy with older adult nursing home residents will likely be carrie d out with two groups of patients. the chronically mentally ill, ana the me dical rehabilitation patients. A typology of patients with mental illness i s described: the mild cognitively impaired and behaviorally disturbed, the cognitively intact but interpersonally troubled, and the mentally iii patie nts who have lost their support systems. Unique inpatient methods of assess ing and treating depression and alcohol abuse are explored for rehabilitati on patients. For both groups there is a focus on functioning and behavioral outcomes. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.