There is a common misperception that older adults with mental-health problems – whether they have long-term issues or are newly diagnosed – cannot recover.
There is also a powerful stigma that prevents people – particularly older people – from talking openly about their illnesses, said Randi Fine, former executive director of the Older Persons' Mental Health and Addictions Network.
Ms. Fine says far too many people, including health professionals and policy-makers, believe that older people are hopeless and burdensome, so they make little effort. And when seniors do get treated, it is invariably with prescription drugs. “I'm not anti-medication, but drugs are not the be-all and end-all. They need to be used appropriately.”
Randi Fine was online earlier to take your questions about mental health for seniors. You can read the discussion by clicking on the box below.
Ms. Fine has had the privilege of working with and on behalf of seniors in the community for many years and has a background in community organizational social work, health administration, and health promotion. Randi was the primary founder of the Community Health Centre at the Bernard Betel Centre in Toronto, the co-ordinator of the first provincial (and then national) project to examine seniors' involvement in the self-help /mutual aid movement, and Executive Director of the Self-Help Resource Centre, the Family Caregivers' Support Network and the Ontario Self-Help Network.
Randi was the founding Executive Director of the Older Persons' Mental Health and Addictions Network of Ontario, which sadly has closed its doors due to a lack of ongoing funding. Randi is now working as a consultant and educator in the field of mental health and aging. She is particularly interested in bringing heightened awareness to issues of senior's mental health and addictions.
