Training in geriatric mental health: Needs and strategies

This paper examines current numbers of U.S. mental health care professional s in psychiatry, psychology, social work, and nursing who are trained to tr eat late-life mental disorders and presents estimates of the increased numb ers that will be needed by 2010, Strategies that may be effective in increa sing the supply of geriatric mental health specialists are expanding incent ives, such as fellowship stipends, loan forgiveness programs, and clinical reimbursement, to attract more clinicians to the field; encouraging profess ional organizations to offer certification in aging to highlight increased knowledge among professionals; and increasing core curricula in late-life m ental disorders, or at least in aging, in all health professions. Other str ategies are to diversify the range of training opportunities available by e stablishing short-term training initiatives to meet specific demands; use n ew technology to provide education to both professionals and the public; an d establish "centers of excellence" to advance research training and clinic al care in late-life mental disorders.