Special Section Introduction Aging and Mental Health

Abstract

The vast majority of older Canadians live without serious mental health conditions. And, in large part, this speaks to the stability of mental well-being across the lifespan (Chappell, Gee, McDonald, & Stones, 2003). However, circumstances sometimes create conditions that give rise to particular mental health needs. Are those needs properly recognized, or recognized at all? Above all, are they adequately met? In a seminal article about psychiatry and the elderly, Butler (1975) evoked a "therapeutic nihilism"-a pessimistic attitude that was seen as pervasive in professsional mental health services provided to the elderly. More recently, the World Health Organization's European regional office, through its Task Force on Destigmatization, has denounced the stigma, discrimination, and exclusion that seniors with mental health conditions are still subjected to today (Mendonça Lima, Levav, Jacobsson, & Rutz, 2003). In this regard, some analysts point out that these phenomena are rooted in the double labelling process by which older citizens are stigmatized both because of old age and because of mental illness (Bartels, 2003; Dallaire, McCubbin, Carpentier, & Clément, in press).The papers in this special section consider variations on normal aging among people who are experiencing mental health conditions, sharply changed social circumstances, or chronic disease. In each case, attention is paid to the interactions among older patients/clients and providers, and sometimes their caregivers. Their focus is to identify and document some aspects of the social and professional responses to the specific mental health needs of the elderly.The paper by Garcia and Finlayson speaks of the service needs of persons growing older with multiple sclerosis. Taylor, Taylor-Henley, and Doan discuss the challenges faced by older immigrants to Canada and the ways in which English as a Second Language classes can be designed to facilitate addressing these challenges in addition to teaching English. The discussion of these ESL classes as a "best practice" model also points to their health promotion attributes in helping older persons develop the tools to address the issues they face. The Seniors Mental Health Policy Lens that is the focus of MacCourt and Tuokko's paper is an analytical tool designed to be used by older persons, service providers, and policymakers as they construct programs and policy. The objective of the lens is to enhance the prevention of mental health problems and promote mental health well-being in the course of program and policy design. On another level, Pérodeau, Paradis, Ducharme, Cohen, and Collin introduce the family dimension in the provision of services: They show the important role of family support in perceived psychological well-being or distress among el-5