Psychosocial Interventions for Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness

Course overview

Course Description: This course is based on material published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and is available as an open-access article. The older adult population in the United States is growing rapidly. Adults with serious mental illness over age 50 have high rates of medical comorbid conditions, significantly reduced life expectancy, and are more likely to be admitted to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. As the older adult population increases, the need for behavioral health services and systems to serve the aging population will also increase. The guide presents psychosocial interventions for older adults experiencing serious mental illness, including Assertive Community Treatment, Cognitive Behavioral Social Skills Training, Functional Adaptation Skills Training, Programa de Entrenamiento para el Desarrollo de Aptitudes para Latinos (Functional Adaptation Skills Training Program for Latinos), Integrated Illness Management and Recovery, and Helping Older People Experience Success. The guide provides considerations and strategies for interdisciplinary teams, peer specialists, clinicians, registered nurses, behavioral health organizations, and policymakers in understanding, selecting, and implementing evidence-based interventions that support adults with serious mental illness. This course on treatments for serious mental illness in older adults is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors who do clinical work. In addition, this course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced-level practitioners who wish to develop their knowledge of treatments for serious mental illness in older adults. The course material includes a literature review of interventions. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing clinical education courses for license renewal. The course is based on a journal article that includes research. It contains statistical analysis and data that some clinicians enjoy reading, and others do not. A significant benefit of reading research-based articles for continuing education is they provide practitioners with the latest findings in their field. Authors: SAMHSA Learning Objectives: This course will provide the practitioner with detailed information regarding treatments for serious mental illness in older adults. Specifically, a professional will: Describe current evidence on the effectiveness of treatments of serious mental illness in older adults. Recognize guidance for selecting and implementing evidence-based programs in the treatment of serious mental illness in older adults. Identify examples of programs for older adults experiencing serious mental illness. Citation: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2021). Psychosocial Interventions for Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness. Evidence-Based Resource Guide Series. https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/pep21-06-05-001.pdf