Practicing Psychologists Working With Older Adults: A Qualitative Study

How does the death of an older client affect the treating psychologist? And, how do those psychologists working with the older population cope with the increased likelihood of a client's death? Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, interviews were conducted with 10 licensed psychologists who reported the majority of their clients were aged 65 or older. Common themes across participants included development of a certain mindset in working with older adults, circumstances of memorable client deaths, boundary setting, impact of client death on clinical work, and developing specific coping strategies. Results from the present study suggested psychologists who worked with older adults identified reactions to client death that ranged from a sense of joy and peace to feelings of loss and regret. However, despite grief reactions, participants believed that experiencing client death led to both personal and professional growth that helped them to become better clinicians. Psychologists working with those in their later years may develop an attitude that death is expected and experiences with client death are incorporated into an improved sense of professional efficacy in dealing with older adult clients. Nonetheless, there are a number of factors that complicate this process, including the development of a unique connection with a client, unresolved personal issues surrounding death, and the challenge of coping with the immediate impact of the death. Psychologists working with older adults will each have a unique reaction to the death of a later-life client, with reason to believe that this loss will not necessarily be a negative, and may spur personal and professional growth.