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Aged Care & Counselling

Explore the complex range of emotional issues that confront the elderly – from dealing with the loss of a spouse to relationships with children and grandchildren ... and much more. This course was written by tutors highly qualified and experienced in the field of psychology and aged care.

Aims of this course
This course aims to develop your understanding of the ageing process, and your ability to help others cope more effectively with their grief. It is designed to be useful for counselling, by other care professions or anyone involved with elderly people in any other way, formally or informally.

Ageing is the process of growing old. It is a gradual biological impairment of usual functioning. Mobility can gradually decrease, the need for medical interventions may increase and old habits may need to be modified.

There is more to ageing than just the physical changes though. Many other things happen as a person ages, which can (and does) impact on their state of mind. These changes generally require adjustments in both outlook and lifestyle. They may include a reduction in disposable income; change in residence, loss of peers (friends, colleagues) and loved ones.

What you will do in this course
  • Discuss theories of ageing and develop an understanding of the different stages of human development.
  • Describe psychological impact of changes that occur as a person reaches old age.
  • Understand the effect of physical health problems on older people.
  • Describe the nature and scope of support services – including counselling – for the elderly.
  • Describe a range of solutions that can enable an elderly person adapt to changed circumstances in order to continue performing tasks or pursuing interests that are becoming increasingly difficult.
  • Explain how a variety of counselling techniques can be applied to specific grief and loss situations for counselling elderly persons.
  • Develop a strategy for counselling an elderly person who has been diagnosed with a debilitating or terminal illness.
  • Develop a strategy for counselling an elderly person who has lost a loved one.
  • Determine when and how to intervene in the life of an elderly person.