The Center for Mental Health & Aging blog is your “go-to” resource for mental health and aging. Each article contains helpful information to deepen your understanding of aging, mental health in older adulthood, dementia, caregiving, family dynamics, and so much more.
June 9, 2026
You may still remember the exact words the clinician used. “Dementia.” “Alzheimer’s disease.” “Probable Lewy body dementia.” For many families, everything after that becomes a blur. The fear is…
June 9, 2026
A dementia diagnosis is one of the most disorienting moments a person — or a family — can face. The fear is real. The uncertainty is real. And so is…
June 2, 2026
A clinician in my Mental Health + Aging Certificate program recently asked a question. He was reflecting on the opening module — the one where I lay the foundation for…
May 13, 2026
"This is probably the last few chapters of her life. And I made it worse. I lied to her and I betrayed her and I don't know if I can…
May 12, 2026
The plan was already made. The family had toured the memory care facility twice, signed the paperwork, and arranged for movers to collect her things the following week. But when…
May 6, 2026
"I feel like I'm doing time for a crime I never committed." That's what one of my older patients said to me in our very first session after…
April 29, 2026
I was settling in for a long travel day on an airplane — when I found myself in one of those unexpectedly meaningful conversations that remind me why I do…
April 15, 2026
Imagine waking up every day not knowing whether to grieve or to hope. Whether to set a place at the table or quietly put the extra plate away. Whether to…
April 1, 2026
What if I told you that nearly half of all older adults — not a small, extraordinary handful, but almost half — actually improve their cognitive and physical functioning as…
March 25, 2026
I want you to picture someone I'll call Margaret. She's 74 years old, sharp-witted, funny, and deeply engaged in her community. But lately, she's been misplacing her keys more…
March 18, 2026
Imagine sitting across from an 82-year-old woman who has survived the death of her husband, two of her children, and now — a diagnosis that threatens to reshape everything she…
March 10, 2026
If you spend any time on social media, you have probably seen it — a well-meaning post, shared thousands of times, warning that caregivers are so depleted, so selflessly devoted,…
