Guidelines for Psychological Practice With Older Adults
1Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Practice Directorate, American Psychological Association, 750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242.
Editor's note. This document was approved as policy of the American Psychological Association (APA) by the APA Council of Representatives in August, 2003.
Author's note. These guidelines were developed by the Division 12/Section II (Section on Clinical Geropsychology) and Division 20 (Division of Adult Development and Aging) Interdivisional Task Force on Practice in Clinical Geropsychology (TF). The TF cochairs were George Niederehe, PhD (National Institute of Mental Health), and Linda Teri, PhD (University of Washington). The TF members included Michael Duffy, PhD (Texas A&M University); Barry Edelstein, PhD (West Virginia University); Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, PhD (Stanford University School of Medicine); Margaret Gatz, PhD (University of Southern California); Paula Hartman-Stein, PhD (independent practice, Kent, OH); Gregory Hinrichsen, PhD (The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, NY); Asenath LaRue, PhD (independent practice, Richland Center, WI); Peter Lichtenberg, PhD (Wayne State University); and George Taylor, PhD (independent practice, Atlanta, GA). Additional input on the guidelines was provided by members of the APA Committee on Aging during 2002 and 2003, including John Cavanaugh, PhD; Bob Knight, PhD; Martita Lopez, PhD; Leonard Poon, PhD; Forrest Scogin, PhD; Beth Hudnall Stamm, PhD; and Antonette Zeiss, PhD.
The TF wishes to extend thanks to the working group established by the Council of Representatives to offer recommendations about an earlier version of these guidelines for their thorough and thoughtful review and editorial suggestions. In addition to TF members Taylor (working group convener) and Niederehe, the working group included Lisa Grossman, PhD, JD; Satoru Izutsu, PhD; Arthur Kovacs, PhD; Neil Massoth, PhD; Janet Matthews, PhD; Katherine Nordal, PhD (Board of Directors); and Ronald Rozensky, PhD. APA staff liaisons for the working group included Geoffrey Reed, PhD (APA Assistant Executive Director for Professional Development), and Jayne Lux. The TF also wishes to acknowledge and thank the many other APA colleagues who have offered consultation and comments on earlier drafts of these guidelines, Sarah Jordan (APA Office of Divisional Services) for staff liaison assistance, the Board of Directors of Division 12/Section II and the Executive Committee of Division 20 for support throughout the process of guideline development, and these Boards and those of Division 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) and Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) for endorsing prior versions of the guidelines document.
This document is scheduled to expire as APA policy by August 31, 2010. After this date, users are encouraged to contact the APA Practice Directorate to confirm that this document remains in effect.
