Psychological assessment and psychotherapy in long-term care

The continued growth of the older adult population, combined with the inclu sion of psychologists in Medicare, is leading to psychological services inc reasingly being delivered in long-term care settings. This article reviews some basic concepts in psychological assessment and psychotherapy with olde r adults in long-term care settings. A guide is provided for the assessment of dementia, delirium, and depression. The use of validated empirical inst ruments, the collection of multiple sources of historical data, and the inc orporation of assessment results in treatment planning are emphasized. Psyc hotherapy with persons having a dementia, and psychotherapy with persons ha ving a personality disorder are the focus of the treatment section of this article. We argue that these have been neglected areas of practice, and yet treatment can produce significant benefits to these patients.