ABSTRACT

How can we work effectively with older people?

What contribution can be made by the field of psychodynamics?

It is now recognised that older adults can benefit from psychodynamic therapy and that psychodynamic concepts can help to illuminate the thorny issues of aging and the complications of later life.

Talking Over the Years begins by examining how ideas of old age are represented by the key psychodynamic theorists of the twentieth century including Freud, Jung, Klein and Winnicott. Contributors go on to draw on their own experiences in a range of settings to demonstrate the value of psychodynamic concepts in clinical practice, covering subjects such as:

  • brief and long-term work with individuals, couples and groups
  • the expressive therapies: art, music, dance and movement
  • ethical considerations
  • training, supervision and support
  • sexuality.

Illustrated by a wealth of clinical material, Talking Over the Years increases psychodynamic awareness, helping practitioners become more sensitive to their patients' needs to the benefit of both the patient and the professional.

part 1|128 pages

Theoretical frameworks

chapter 1|15 pages

Old and new

Freud and others

chapter 2|9 pages

Loneliness in old age

Klein and others

chapter 3|13 pages

On becoming an old man

Jung and others

chapter 4|13 pages

Attachment in old age

Bowlby and others

chapter 5|13 pages

The old self

Kohut, Winnicott and others

chapter 6|15 pages

Growing into old age

Erikson and others

chapter 7|14 pages

Group psychotherapy

Foulkes, Yalom and Bion

chapter 8|16 pages

Inpatient dynamics

Thinking, feeling and understanding

part 2|152 pages

Clinical applications

chapter 12|16 pages

Art therapy with older people

Clinical illustration in a case of post-traumatic stress disorder

chapter 13|15 pages

Music therapy

chapter 15|16 pages

Dementia

chapter 16|15 pages

Elderly couples and their families

chapter 17|17 pages

Sexuality

chapter 18|16 pages

Bereavement