TPC Journal V8, Issue 2 - FULL ISSUE

The Professional Counselor | Volume 8, Issue 2 107 are problems that modern medicine may be able to solve (Ng et al., 2015). Past research indicates that the medicalization of aging predicts negative attitudes toward aging and consequentially leads to “the objectification of older adults as patients rather than as individuals with interesting life experiences” (Ng et al., 2015, p. 2). Consequences of Ageism Impact on Older Adults’ Health and Well-Being There is a substantial body of research indicating that age stereotypes influence older adults’ health and well-being. For instance, older adults’ perceptions of aging are associated with memory performance (Levy, Zonderman, Slade, & Ferrucci, 2011), hearing decline (Levy, Slade, & Gill, 2006), developing Alzheimer’s symptoms (Levy et al., 2016), and dying from respiratory or cardiovascular illnesses (Levy & Myers, 2005). In fact, Levy, Slade, Kunkel, and Kasl (2002) found that even after controlling for age, gender, socioeconomic status, loneliness, and functional health, older adults with more positive self-perceptions of aging lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self- perceptions of aging. Conversely, research indicates that positive perceptions of aging may provide a salutatory effect on health and well-being. Older adults with positive age stereotypes are 44% more likely to fully recover from severe disability compared to those with negative age stereotypes (Levy, Slade, Murphy, & Gill, 2012), and older military veterans who resisted negative age stereotypes had significantly lower rates of mental illness compared to those who fully accepted them (Levy, Pilver, & Pietrzak, 2014). These positive differences were found for suicidal ideation (5.0% vs. 30.1%), anxiety (3.6% vs. 34.9%), and PTSD (2.0% vs. 18.5%), even after controlling for age, combat experience, personality, and physical health. In regard to variables that may influence older adults’ self-perceptions of aging, Fullen, Granello, Richardson, and Granello (in press) found that resilience—the ability to bounce back from adversity—and multidimensional wellness were significant predictors of positive age perception, whereas increased age and decreased physical wellness predicted internalized ageism. Furthermore, resilience appeared to buffer older adults from experiencing internalized ageism as they grew older. However, older adults may not be exposed to interventions to promote resilience and well-being because of ageism’s impact on the availability of mental health services among older adults. Impact on Mental Health Professionals The gap between the mental health needs of older adults and the number of mental health professionals with specific training in working with older adults is on the verge of a “crisis” (Institute of Medicine, 2012, p. ix). Scholars provide a variety of explanations to account for this, including systemic factors—such as inadequate funding and a lack of training opportunities within academic programs (Bartels & Naslund, 2013; Gross & Eshbaugh, 2011; Robb, Chen, & Haley, 2002)—and personal factors, including low interest in working with older adults (Tomko, 2008) and therapeutic pessimism (Danzinger & Welfel, 2000; Helmes & Gee, 2003). Systemic ageism. Although older adults consistently report higher life satisfaction than younger or middle-aged adults (George, 2010), approximately 26% of all Medicare beneficiaries, or more than 13 million Americans, meet the criteria for a mental disorder (Center for Medicare Advocacy, 2013). Yet, mental health services currently account for only 1% of Medicare expenditures (Bartels & Naslund, 2013). Systemic barriers may be partially responsible for the lack of access to mental health services among older adults. For example, inadequate reimbursement rates is cited as one reason for the 19.5% decline in psychiatrists accepting Medicare between 2005–2006 and 2009–2010 (Bishop, Press, Keyhani,