Understanding Elder Abuse A Clinician's Guide

This book helps mental health clinicians anticipate, recognize, and respond to elder abuse.

As the baby boom generation reaches retirement age, mental health clinicians will increasingly be working with older adults, some of whom will have experienced abuse or are at risk of experiencing abuse. This book will help clinicians recognize and respond appropriately should they encounter such clients in their practice.
 
This concise, reader‑friendly book quickly familiarizes readers with essential aspects of the field of elder abuse, including risk and protective factors, the important roles played by of cognition and capacity, clinicians’ legal and ethical obligations to report suspected or known elder abuse, and the purpose and function of adult protective services. Readers will learn strategies to communicate effectively with older adults, screen for cognitive deficits, detect possible abuse, and work in tandem with adult protective services. Current and emerging interventions targeting older adults and their caregivers are also reviewed, along with a brief summary of needed research. Clinicians looking to begin or enhance their practice with older adults will find Understanding Elder Abuse an invaluable resource.

Shelly L. Jackson, PhD, is a visiting assistant professor in the Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy, Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences, at the University of Virginia. As a developmental psychologist, Dr. Jackson began her career in child maltreatment. In 2006, she and her colleague, Thomas L. Hafemeister, received a grant from the National Institute of Justice to study whether and how different forms of elder abuse are distinct — a grant that launched her interest in elder abuse. Dr. Jackson has since published numerous articles on elder abuse and frequently presents at professional conferences. Her teaching and research have focused on vulnerable victims (i.e., children, older adults, and incarcerated persons). Dr. Jackson received her doctoral training in developmental psychology from the University of Vermont and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in psychology and law at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. In 1998, she was a Society for Research in Child Development Executive Branch Policy Fellow.

Series Foreword
1. Introduction and Overview of Elder Abuse
2. Risk and Protective Factors
3. Cognitive Capacity and Communication Challenges
4. Detection and Legal Obligations to Report
5. Working With the Adult Protective Services System
6. Elder Abuse Interventions
Afterword
Appendix: Online Resources
References
Index
About the Author