Mental Health in Older Adults
8:00 a.m. Registration, Breakfast, and Resource Fair
8:30 a.m. Welcome Presenter: Doug Bisbee
8:45 a.m. Mental Illness among Older Adults Presenter: Art Walaszek, M.D.
9:45 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m. Religion, Spirituality, and Mental Health in Old Age Presenter: Susan H. McFadden, Ph.D
11:15 a.m. Wrap up, Certificate of Attendance, Evaluation
11:30 a.m. Adjourn
By the end of this session, attendees will:
- Appreciate the importance of recognizing mental illness among older adults.
- Describe the features of the psychiatric disorders most commonly seen in older adults, specifically, depression, anxiety, dementia, and alcohol use disorders.
- List resources available to help older adults with the above disorders.
- Know more about recent research on religion, spirituality, and mental health among elders.
- Be able to identify challenges facing Baby Boomers coping with mental health issues as they age.
- Be aware of research that recognizes spirituality and religiousness as mental health resources.
Dr. Art Walaszek is a board-certified geriatric psychiatrist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (UWSMPH). He is Vice Chair for Education and Faculty Development, and Director of Psychiatry Residency Training at the University of Wisconsin Department of Psychiatry. He oversees medical education in Psychiatry at the UWSMPH and chairs the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Graduate Medical Education Committee. Dr. Walaszek’s educational work has been recognized with a UWSMPH Dean’s Teach Award and an ACGME Parker Palmer Courage to Teach Award, both in 2014.
Susan H. McFadden, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Psychology, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, where she taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, including Psychology of Religion and seminars on Dementia Studies. Dr. McFadden retired from the University in June 2012 and works as a research consultant for the Fox Valley Memory Project (www.foxvalleymemoryproject.org), which aims to create a “dementia-friendly community” in northeast Wisconsin. She has published many papers on religion, spirituality, and aging. Her most recent book (co-authored with her husband, John) is Aging Together: Dementia, Friendship, and Flourishing Communities (2011, Johns Hopkins University Press).
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