Creating Opportunities for Older Adults with Mental Illness: The Power of Valued Social Roles

Workshop Presentation
Catherine Stein,  Marcia Hunt  

Recent statistics suggest that about 4.8% of adults age 60 and older in the United States and around 14% of older adults worldwide are living with a mental illness. The stigmatized social identities of being an older adult and a person coping with mental illness can perpetuate social isolation, economic marginalization, and lack of access to healthcare and other basic resources. In this interactive workshop, we use a social role framework to challenge stigma and facilitate individual and systems change for older adults with mental illness. We describe different types of social roles that people occupy throughout the life course such as relational roles (e.g., daughter, parent, friend) and roles that designate social status (e.g., manager, worker, teacher). The importance of social roles in identity formation is discussed and concepts such as social role losses and gains are presented within the context of normal aging. We focus on ways that bias and stereotypes about aging and mental illness can limit valued social role opportunities. Through vignettes and small group discussion, workshop participants explore how they can collaborate with older adults with mental illness to help them to enact desired and valued social roles. We invite participants to examine how healthcare professionals as well as family and friends can work together with older adults with mental illness to mitigate barriers and increase opportunities for meaningful social participation. This workshop has direct implications for understanding individual and setting factors that can facilitate improved quality of life for older adults with mental illness.