ABSTRACT
This introduction chapter overviews the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters in this book. This chapter examines the novelty of therapy in old age. Britton and Woods note the roots of modern-day psychology in psychometric testing and say that we need to move on from this. Knight reaches a position similar to that of Britton and Woods namely that a contextual, cohort and maturity-based model for ageing is needed. Knight explains that Erikson reinterpreted childhood development in less sexual terms than classical analysis, and extended personality development into adolescence and adulthood, and old age. Peter Coleman discusses research which shows that by late life the life history report is a significant indicator of well-being. Older as well as younger people may still need to find out who they are, and to begin composing a story they can call their own.
