In rural Mexico, people often say that Alzheimer's does not exist. ""People do not have Alzheimer's because they don't need to worry,"" said one Oaxacan, explaining that locals lack the stresses that people face ""over there"" - that is, in the modern world. Alzheimer's and related dementias carry a stigma. In contrast to the way elders are revered for remembering local traditions, dementia symbolizes how modern families have forgotten the communal values that bring them together. In Caring for the People of the Clouds, psychologist Jonathan Yahalom provides an emotionally evocative, story-rich analysis of family caregiving for Oaxacan elders living with dementia. Based on his extensive research in a Zapotec community, Yahalom presents the conflicted experience of providing care in a setting where illness is steeped in stigma and locals are concerned about social cohesion. Traditionally, the Zapotec, or ""people of the clouds,"" respected their elders and venerated their ancestors. Dementia reveals the difficulty of upholding those ideals today. Yahalom looks at how dementia is understood in a medically pluralist landscape, how it is treated in a setting marked by social tension, and how caregivers endure challenges among their families and the broader community. Yahalom argues that caregiving involves more than just a response to human dependency; it is central to regenerating local values and family relationships threatened by broader social change. In so doing, the author bridges concepts in mental health with theory from medical anthropology. Unique in its interdisciplinary approach, this book advances theory pertaining to cross-cultural psychology and develops anthropological insights about how aging, dementia, and caregiving disclose the intimacies of family life in Oaxaca.

Loneliness in Older Adults: Effects, Prevention, and Treatment analyzes loneliness as a complex phenomenon, taking into account the most recent contributions from neuroscience, psychology, medicine and sociology. This volume describes this phenomenon from an interdisciplinary point of view, with special emphasis on older people from a plural and heterogeneous perspective: older people in general, older immigrants, older women, older LGTBI, etc. Faced with the impact of this emerging issue, this book provides a comprehensive knowledge of loneliness, contributing scientific knowledge to the practice of evidence. Tools are also provided for professionals, providing intervention protocols with debates and proposals, and effective digital resources to combat it. Tables, images, and tools guide students, academics, and professionals step-by-step in solving the cases raised, through an integrated practice. There is no work that develops this theme from such a plural and pragmatic perspective, covering all the dimensions of loneliness in each of the thematic axes: psychological, neurological, social, and health. Readers are provided feedback for all the knowledge for a comprehensive scientific knowledge based on evidence and given the necessary instrumental skills related to being social and the functioning of our brain. This book is aimed at a very plural audience of researchers, academics and professionals in the social and behavioral sciences including psychologists, sociologists, social workers, anthropologists, and also professionals in the health sciences, among others.

As people grow older, cultural issues arise. Recognizing how social influences guide and restrict people leads to a better understanding of one's self and helps people as they age. Multicultural Perspectives on Gender and Aging provides emerging research on midlife issues, physical aspects of aging, and the emotional value in the context of the culture in which people are living. While highlighting topics such as elderly disabilities, quality of life, and gender dimensions, this publication explores self-esteem in older members of society. This book is an important resource for academicians, healthcare professionals, professionals, researchers, and students seeking current research on the social and cultural characteristics of growing old.

Psychology and Geriatrics demonstrates the value of integrating psychological knowledge and insight with medical training and geriatric care. Leading physician and geropsychologist contributors come together to share their collective wisdom about topics that are as emotionally uncomfortable as they are universally relevant. As the world struggles to respond to unprecedented gains in life expectancy and an explosion of new retirees living with chronic health conditions, this collaboration could not be more timely. This exceptional resource is, itself, evidence that physicians and psychologists can work together to optimize truly patient-centered geriatric care. Here at last is a scientifically rigorous, evidence-based response to the aging mind and body from those most expertly trained.

"Clear, lucid and powerful The Elegant Self is a must read if you are interested in the further reaches of development." - Ken Wilber author of The Integral Vision Grow Beyond Conventional Adulthood and Distinctively Give Your Gifts. The Elegant Self offers a unique perspective on the future of you. Explore adulthood through a new lens as you tour the many dangers facing our world today. Gain rare clarity into some of the highest stages of development. Learn how the trap of completeness may be holding your influence in the world back in virtually every facet of life. Enjoy this rare invitation into the courage for you to become more of an elegant self. - Save thousands of dollars by understanding the origin of inadequacy. - Go beyond the limitations of the autonomous self most adults are stuck in. - Free yourself from the trap of completeness. - Leverage paradox to fuel greater influence and impact in the world. - Discover never-before-seen ways to free yourself from limiting habits. Robert Lundin McNamara is a professor of developmental psychology in Boulder, Colorado and is a highly respected authority on the higher reaches of adulthood. Rob is author of Strength To Awaken, a speaker, performance coach, psychotherapist, and expert in helping high-achieving adults make greater impact in their lives.

This study reflects a growing recognition of the contribution that studies of the post-war "welfare state" can make to contemporary debates about the restructuring of welfare. Drawing on the community care debates from 1971 to 1993, it illuminates contemporary concerns about such key issues as rationing care, the health and social care divide, the changing role of residential care and the growing emphasis on provider competition "From community care to market care?" focuses on the interpretation and development of national policy at local authority level in four contrasting local authorities. The authors outline the development of welfare services for older people from 1971 to 1993, and explore whether service developments in this period were as inadequate as claimed by the proponents of radical change. The continuities and changes in the pre- and post-1990 NHS and Community Care Act systems of community care are also examined The results of the study should make a significant contribution to the community care provision for older people. The book will be of interest to academic, policy and practitioner audiences.

Operators of assisted living facilities interpret aging in place very differently than residents do. This difference in interpretation must be taken into account by regulators, policymakers, and operators so that they may reconsider assisted living's place along the traditional continuum of care.

With the growing number of assisted living facilities opening across the United States, it is essential for scholars and practitioners to understand residents' experiences in these environments. The author examines the ideals versus the realities of assisted living and the aging in place/continuum of care debate surrounding assisted living.

While the author presents the results of a detailed, comprehensive anthropological study, she also addresses policy issues which are of concern on the national level. The book combines academic and applied approaches to create an ethnographic fieldwork investigation relevant to housing and health care policies for the elderly in the United States.

The Aging Consumer: Perspectives from Psychology and Marketing, 2nd edition takes stock of what is known around age and consumer behavior, identifies gaps and open questions within the research, and outlines an agenda for future research. There has been little systematic research done with respect to the most basic questions related to age and consumer behavior, such as whether older adults versus young and middle-age adults respond to marketing activities including pricing, promotions, product design, and distribution. Written by experts, The Aging Consumer compiles research on a broad range of topics on consumer marketing, from an individual to a societal level of analysis. This second edition provides new versions of chapters contained in the 2010 volume that have been updated to reflect the latest psychological and marketing research and thinking. Included also are ten new chapters which cover exciting new ground, such as changes in metacognition in older adults, motivated cognition of the aging consumer, and a global perspective on aging and the economy across cultures. This updated volume is beneficial for researchers and practitioners in marketing, consumer behavior, and advertising. Additionally, The Aging Consumer, 2nd edition will appeal to professionals in other fields such as psychology, decision sciences, gerontology and gerontological social work, and those who are concerned with normal human aging and its implications for the everyday behavior of older individuals. It will also be of interest to those in fields concerned with the societal implications of an aging population, such as economics, policy, and law.

This insightful and moving book looks at how people of various ages view the process of aging and the social and emotional perspectives it evokes. Will You Still Need Me?: Feeling Wanted, Loved, and Meaningful as We Age is a touching and incisive book organized around interviews with individuals of various ages who have responded to questions about aging. The interviewees offer their unguarded thoughts about aging with a significant other-or alone. They reveal their self perceptions, their feelings about the future, their self-image as it relates to aging, and their expectations and impressions of aging itself. They also share their concerns that with aging comes not only possible loneliness, but also meaninglessness and even uselessness. Psychotherapist Angela Browne-Miller weaves the findings into a philosophical, research-based overview of cross-generational concerns and feelings about aging. Her book opens a window into the hearts and minds of our parents, our peers, and our children as they look at the aging process and at how individuals, society, and families treat aging. Through the sensitive, up-close-and-personal, bird's-eye view of the people interviewed for this book, aging unfolds into a deeply moving experience, one we all share. Includes some 50 interview reports describing people's views regarding the aging they see around them and their own aging processes Presents a group of sensitive illustrations and photographs by the author

As people are living longer on average than ever before, the number of those with dementia will increase. Because many will live a considerable time at home with their diagnosis, we need to know more about the ways people can adapt to and learn to live with dementia in their everyday lives. Lars-Christer Hyden argues in this book that to do so will involve re-imagining what dementia really is and what it can mean to the afflicted and their loved ones. One of the most important everyday opportunities for sharing experiences is the simple act of storytelling. But when someone close to you gradually loses the ability to tell stories and cherish the shared history you have together, this is seen as a threat to the relationship, to the feeling of belonging together, and to the identity of the person diagnosed. Therefore, learning about how people with dementia can participate in storytelling along with their families and friends helps to sustain those relationships and identities. In Entangled Narratives, Hyden not only emphasizes the possibilities that are inherent in collaborative storytelling, but instructs professionals and otherwise healthy relatives to learn how to effectively listen and, ultimately, re-imagine their patients and loved ones as collaborative meaning-makers in their lives.