The Elderly Alcoholic: The Counselor's Dilemma

The Older Americans Act of 1964 generated not only interest and concern but also a myriad of programs directed at a unique and growing population of American citizens—the elderly. The unique features of this population come with a wide range of physiological, sociological, and psychological problems that need to be addressed by the professional counselor and counselor education programs which provide training for the mental health specialist. A major problem of this population, alcoholism, has received little emphasis in counseling literature. In an attempt to bridge this gap, this article presents physiological, sociological, and psychological aspects of alcoholism as they apply to the elderly. The discussion which follows the presentation sets forth conclusions and recommendations for counselor education programming.