Unique opportunities for psychology in mental health care for older adults

Older adults are the fastest growing subpopulation in the United States, and it is likely that the demand for well-trained clinical geropsychologists will expand. This trend has important implications for research and graduate training. One promising area of research concerns the most effective ways of dealing with long-term illness in partners of older adults. With regard to training, we point out that the connection between neuropsychology and geropsychology needs further emphasis. Increasing the number of geropsychology programs is clearly desirable, and further funding to support and increase the number of such programs should be of high priority. Two recent developments are also highlighted. The first involves a federal court case that addresses the relationship between physical and mental illness, an issue particularly important to mental health parity concerning insurance reimbursements. The second issue concerns prescription privileges for psychologists in view of the recently passed law in New Mexico permitting psychologists to prescribe medicine. This article discusses the implications of these developments.