Geriatric Social Worker

Attempting to sort through all of the services, programs, and benefits available to
older adults sometimes feels like trying to navigate a maze. The lengthy application process, seemingly endless documents, varying requirements, and program choices might seem too confusing for some older adults, preventing them from obtaining care they need. Helping to assist them through this process are geriatric social workers, specialists who increase access to helpful services that improve their lives.

Usually working within hospitals, nursing homes, aging centers, and in the homes of their clients, geriatric social workers are care managers and personal advocates for their clients. They identify programs and services available to older adults, connecting them to other professionals in the care community.

Older adults typically find reaching these programs and services to be a difficult and convoluted process, but geriatric social workers offer them the expertise needed to navigate the bureaucratic process and increase access to these services.

Assessing the Needs of Older Adults

Because older age naturally brings about loss of physical abilities, as well as loss of personal relationships, there are many issues older adults might face before meeting with a geriatric social worker.

To assist them with any of these issues, the geriatric social worker must first determine where the problem areas in the client’s life are by conducting an assessment.

According to the book Social Workers and Health Care in an Aging Society, by Barbara Berkman and Linda Harootyan, assessment allows a social worker understand a client’s needs, and the scope of a their problem. Without a full picture of the client’s life, and current supports, the social worker is unable to develop a care plan.

One of the most widely used geriatric assessments is the Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire. While conducting the OARS, the geriatric social worker interviews the client, asking questions related to transportation, ability to complete daily tasks, and general health.

Based on the answers, the geriatric social worker notes the problem areas in the older adult’s life, and begins to develop a future care plan.

Providing Answers for Older Adults

After assessing the client, geriatric social workers begin the care management process by identifying resources in the community for an older adult. Many older adults are unaware of the large number of benefits and social services they are eligible for, or might have gotten confused in the past when applying for services.

For example, a major goal of geriatric social work is linking adults to service providers in the community. Consider an older adult who visits a social worker because he is unable to drive himself to the grocery store anymore. The man is frustrated because his son is not always around to drive him, and he doesn’t understand what options are available to him.

Here, the geriatric social worker might discuss the older adult’s concerns, and brainstorm different ideas with the client. One option might include connecting him to a transportation service that regularly takes him to the store, while another could involve signing up for a “Meals on Wheels” service that could bring groceries to him weekly.

When the two decide on a care plan, the geriatric social worker begins to contact the appropriate networks, and sets up the program for the client.

While much of geriatric social work involves connecting older adults to social services, they also help clients feel more empowered through individual counseling and advocacy.

Helping Older Adults Recognize their Strengths

Because geriatric social workers aim to improve all aspects of a client’s life, they often find themselves in the role of a counselor. Given their established and trusting relationships with clients, geriatric social workers are perfectly suited to assist them with non-clinical mental health concerns.

During the initial assessment, social workers uncover a client’s strengths and weaknesses, allowing them to draw upon this knowledge to help older adults overcome limitations that rise from issues like chronic illness or depression.

For example, consider an older adult who is meeting with a geriatric social worker in a nursing home.

The social worker finds that the older adults is feeling a loss of control in her life, and is anxious and depressed after recently moving out of her house into the nursing home. The client laments that her life is “over,” and she misses living in her old home surrounded by her neighbors and friends.

According to “Social Work with Older Adults and Their Families: Changing Practice Paradigms,” published in Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, a social worker meeting with this client might engage in “narrative gerontology.”

Narrative gerontology is a life review therapy based on the idea that past stories contain a larger framework that reflects expectations, values, and strengths. It helps older adults reflect deeply on their pasts, and helps uncover personal strengths that might have been forgotten.

The social worker meeting with the nursing home client might note that she is facing a personal crisis of identity now that she has moved out of her old home. To help explore these feelings in greater detail, the social worker might inquire about past memories and experiences that brought about similar feelings.

Through life review, the social worker discovers that she moved around a lot as a child, and frequently had to make new friends. However, in her twenties, the client settled down in a neighborhood with her husband, and stayed there for years before moving to the nursing home.

The social worker then re-frames these past memories in the context of the current situation. For example, the social worker might note that she must have developed strong interpersonal skills as a child, because of how often she moved to a new town.

Then he could note that the current situation seems fairly similar, and that she has the skills necessary to meet new neighbors and adjust to her new lifestyle. Feeling more comfortable in her situation, she might then acknowledge the similarities and has the skills necessary to develop new friendships, join senior groups, and continue living life.

Working with Older Adults

If you’re interested in a career connecting older adults with helpful services and assisting them with living fuller lives, request information from psychology schools. Also, learn more about the counseling licensing process and what the requirements for licensure are: social work licensure.