Rehabilitation of the Older Person: A Psychosocial Focus

The purpose of this paper is to review psychosocial aspects of geriatric rehabil-itation and suggest treatment modifications and responsibilities of physical therapists in this area. Current statistics on elderly people are given, and the implications of these statistics for future health care and the rehabilitation of elderly patients are discussed. The current literature on psychosocial theories of aging is reviewed, and implications for care are given. The additional topics covered in this overview are depression and motivation, hypochondriasis, and organic brain syndrome. This overview also describes several quick and easy assessment tools and intervention techniques that can be used in the clinical setting by physical therapists. Throughout this article, suggestions are made from a psychosocial focus for the role of the physical therapist in geriatric rehabilitation