Book review: Counselling Troubled Older Adults. A Handbook for Pastors and Religious Care Givers. Harold G. Koenig and Andrew J. Weaver. Abingdon Press, 1997.
✍ Scribed by David Hewlett
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 54 KB
- Volume
- 13
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6230
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Director of a programme on religion, ageing and health, and Weaver, a Methodist Minister working in the Department of Psychology at the University of Hawaii, have been bold in their attempt to produce a book which takes seriously the spiritual aspects of caregiving for older adults. They begin in their ®rst section be arming the clergy role in the care of troubled adults, stating particularly the eectiveness of clergy in the emotional support and encouragement of these patients. Clergy are perceived as more caring and warmer than the medics. However, as a profession, we often need help in diagnosis, which can lead to appropriate help being given quickly to those for whom we care. The spiritual dimension and the vital part that it plays is emphasized again by pointing out that up to 30% of people in this category turn to religious beliefs and practices as their ®rst port of call when they meet troubles. After all, ageing nearly always equals some sort of loss and leads to the questioning of the purpose of life, which is, of course, the great spiritual question from which others emanate; the authors take this situation seriously and go on in Section 2 to produce 29 case studies. These are grouped under headings: depression, anxiety, Alzheimer's disease and related disorders, major psychoses, substance abuse and dependence, and other issues facing older people. Each of the 29 case studies is clearly set out and has common subheadings for ease of reference. These are: