Expanding Mental Health Services to the Elderly: A Peer Counseling Project

摘要

The report describes the results of a project designed to develop acceptable and accessible mental health services for the elderly through the use of older persons as peer counselors. The use of peer counselors is described as a way of de-professionalizing and demystifying mental health services by eliminating the stigma and negative association of mental health center and traditional psychiatric treatment services. Training of the counselors is described, and the development of local models corroborating the experience of other peer counseling programs in other parts of the country is addressed. Further, the collaboration between local aging networks and local mental health systems is examined. Finally, the success of the project is increasing mental health services to older persons is noted.