What are the key ingredients for mental health and wellbeing in older life?

As a Family Therapist and Gerontologist, I often get asked this question by people who are coming to me for the first time.  As we begin to talk and find out what is going on for them now, an education process begins. The various pieces of the puzzle that make up a good quality of life are laid out, so to speak, on the table. We begin to examine each one in regards to them and to prioritize places where changes need to be made.

Doing this helps reduce overwhelm which occurs when people feel a whole wave of factors is coming at them – they feek like they are in danger of going under. As we begin to pick apart and prioritize the necessary ingredients of emotional health and wellbeing in their lives, we begin also to strategize a timetable and plan.

Lately, since I am asked this question so often, I have taken to drawing diagrams for my clients and their families. I have been asked to create a chart to help explain the process that we use. So, I did that and here it is.

Each category is a huge topic in itself but this chart is a map to give you the general lay of the land.