Leben in Begrenzter Zeit: Beratung Älterer Menschen

The act of aging is now in the process of changing as a result of the modern demographic developments and their social ramifications. It is moving away from a rigid interpretation that long associated it with a solely negative view of this period of life, toward one of being a dynamic time in a humanÔs lifetime. Aging is no longer the door to death, but a lifetime period that demands its own identity, one that includes degeneration and loss as well as development, i.e., an ambivalence toward growing older. In addition, problems and conflicts emerge that complement the more "classical" themes of aging such as loss of partner, sickness and helplessness/care dependency and lead to a greater need for counselling. This book first presents the basics of modern aging and then looks at a number of themes and conflicts that may lead to counselling needs. Finally, the book provides the perspectives of a sort of counselling that is oriented to living well in old age. The final section provides concrete examples from counselling practice; the present structures of caretaking and existing counselling offers are discussed and the peculiarities of dealing with the elderly are shown. Particular emphasis is placed on establishing a good relationship in the counselling setting.One goal of this volume is to develop an understanding for the special worries and needs of older persons and to point out that they often are reliant on such counselling help. But the main thing is to enable them to live a successful life.