Читать книгу Helping Relationships With Older Adults - Adelle M. Williams - Страница 51

Older persons have made and continue to make numerous contributions to society. They are instrumental to their families, communities, work environment, and numerous other arenas. While on a personal level many families respect their elders, as a society, much more work is needed. American society values youth, beauty, and vitality, and these attributes are not viewed as representative of aging persons. These negative perceptions impede their ability to live comfortably and engage successfully in all avenues of life. Change is needed to reengage and reinvigorate this large segment of our society, as myths, stereotypes, and discrimination abound. Helping professionals must work as advocates on behalf of older clients and display a willingness to train and educate the uninformed regarding the strengths that elders bring to different situations. Issues including ageism, impact of the baby boom generation, employment practices, and mental health services as part of the aging network will be examined in this chapter.