By Renata Sago
Word In Black
From spontaneous conversations at the local park to everlasting friendships that transcend international boundaries, social connection is a natural part of being human. It’s helpful to have a few reliable people around as we navigate life’s ups and downs. As we age, we can experience feelings that can be hard to recover from.
Credit: Unsplash/ Shawn Day
AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH) recommends socializing as an essential activity for maintaining a sharp mind. But for people feeling anxious or depressed, or dealing with a neurological disorder, talking to a professional therapist may be particularly useful.
The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 19.4 percent of adults over age 65 had received counseling or therapy within the past twelve months, a slightly higher percentage than adults ages 18-44 (18.5 percent). Depending on your needs, short- or long-term counseling can help.
Eric Correls, 65, began weekly talk therapy sessions in 2013 to get some much-needed support when his girlfriend had a stroke that left her with aphasia, a brain disorder that affects speech.
“She could barely move her mouth to say a sentence. Slurred words,” he remembers. “No eye contact. She had to see a speech pathologist to get her back on track. It was stressful because she’s my confidante. When she couldn’t talk, I really needed someone to talk to.”
Correls’ therapy sessions helped him identify and manage his emotions while caring for his girlfriend. After one year, he shifted to monthly phone calls. He encourages people to talk with someone when life gets overwhelming.
There are various kinds of talk therapy. Read below to get a brief understanding of the different types of talk therapy available:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This approach focuses on identifying and challenging negative or inaccurate thoughts, learning self-help strategies and changing behaviors.
Interpersonal Therapy
The goal here is to examine how the patient gets along with romantic partners, family, colleagues, friends and neighbors. Interpersonal therapy sessions might be individualized or held in a group setting. The therapist wants to help identify solutions for conflicts — unresolved issues from the past as well as in the present.
Integrative Therapy
Rather than focusing on specific thoughts or behavior, this practice centers on an individual’s sense of self: who they are now; who they have been; who they desire to be and how to get there.
In this article, the name of “Correls” has been changed to respect health privacy.
Brain Health is a unique series focused on how to help you age well. These stories have been created in cooperation with AARP and previously published by Word In Black.
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