Longevity: implications for counseling

Includes bibliographical references (pages 43-53)???Old age is not a status we choose to become; it is a status that we inherit simply by the virtue of living, not dying??? (as Utz & Nordmeyer paraphrase Holstein, 2007, p. 706). This project aims to raise awareness about an age demographic that has been largely neglected by marriage family therapy. Population trends in the 21st century indicate an increase in diversity among clients that includes older aged individuals, couples, and families. In the United States, public attitudes and social values reflect an ageist bias that is widely taken for granted by the dominant culture as normative. The American Counseling Association???s (2005) ACA Code of Ethics states: Counselors are aware of their own values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors and avoid imposing values that are inconsistent with counseling goals. Counselors respect the diversity of clients (p. 4-5). Counselors gain knowledge, personal awareness, sensitivity, and skills pertinent to working with a diverse client population (p. 9). The American Psychological Association???s Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults state that ???Psychologists are encouraged to recognize how their attitudes and beliefs about aging and about older individuals may be relevant to their assessment and treatment of older adults??? (APA Guidelines for psychological practice with older adults, 2004, p. 237). Knowledge and skill competencies written for geropsychologists adopt the same approach in its core attitudes for practice with older adults (Knight, Karel, Hinrichsen, Qualls, & Duffy, 2009). Such considerations are not found in the academic or professional literature of family counseling, however. To date, education about normal, healthy aging is not a mandated part of the curriculum for MFT programs, and there are no resources designed to help counselors evaluate their own age-related prejudices, fears, and cognitive distortions associated with old age