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The growing awareness of the effectiveness of psychotherapy with all segments of the population is well understood and acknowledged. In the field of geriatric medicine, psychotherapy has become an integral aspect of the multidisciplinary approach to treating the elderly. Many nursing homes contract with agencies for a consultant to provide psychotherapy to their residents and patients.
Elderly persons residing in nursing homes encounter major changes in their lives when giving up independent living situations and making the transition to institutional living/life. For this age group, losses fall into these categories: physical, mental, relationships, material possessions, finacnes and independence. Individuals react to losses in varied ways, such as dpression, anxiety, confusion, helplessness, verbal abusiveness and physically disruptive behaviors.
As a consultant, I assessed and provided psychotherapy to individuals in two nursing homes. In one of the nursing homes, the psychiatrist presented the unusual case of an isolated, verabally disruptive patient and requested my opinion. This paper describes the treatment and outcome of basically silent mirroring of the patient's bodily movements, with a minimum of verbalization, over a three-mongth period.