Ageing is the process of growing old. It is a gradual biological impairment of usual functioning. These changes have a direct impact on the ability of organs, such as the heart, kidney and lungs and biological systems such as the reproductive and digestive systems, which affect the organism as a whole. What we mean by “old” has also changed over recent years. Due to medical advances, improved hygiene and sanitation, people tend to live longer. Our life expectancy is the average number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is the average expected life span of an individual. Our life expectancy is dependent on the country we live in, our health and so on. For example, in countries with high infant mortality rates, the life expectancy will be different than in countries where the infant mortality rate is lower. As a person gets older things change in their life: everything from lifestyle to health and their capacity to do things, through to those activities which they choose to pursue. This course helps you understand these changes, and the ways in which a counsellor, carer or anyone else might interact with and support an older person.

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Understanding Ageing
2. Lifestyle Changes
3. Deterioration of Health
4. Support Services
5. Enablement Techniques
6. Grief and Loss Counselling
7. Debilitating and Terminal Illness
8. Losing a Loved One
9. Ethics and Intervention

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school\'s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

• To discuss theories of ageing, and to develop an understanding of the different stages of human development.
• To describe the psychological impact of changes which occur as a person reaches old age
• To understand the effect of physical health problems on older people.
• Describe the nature and scope of support services, including counseling, for the elderly.
• Describe a range of solutions that can enable an elderly person to adapt to changed circumstances in order to continue performing tasks or pursuing interests that are becoming increasingly difficult for them.
• Explain how a variety of counseling techniques can be applied to specific Grief and loss situations for counseling elderly persons.
• Develop a strategy for counseling an elderly person who has been diagnosed with a debilitating or terminal illness.
• Develop a strategy for counselling an elderly person who has lost a loved one.
• Determine when and how to intervene in the life of an elderly person