The world’s population is aging and older adults have special mental, physical, emotional, and social needs. Among these include dementia, late life depression, anxiety and sleep disorders, as well as psychiatric effects of chronic physical illness. Numerous studies have confirmed the increasing incidence of mental illness among older adults as well as a decrease in specialists serving the mental health needs of this aging population.
This IPA-created course, with funding support from the Alzheimer's Association, provides older adult mental health training for physicians and allied health professionals who work - but do not necessarily have advanced training - in older adult mental health.
With 12 seminars to choose from, expand your knowledge and understanding of important concepts in older adult mental health. CME is available following completion of each seminar.
This Primer is free (registration required) for IPA and ISTAART members. For all others, there is a nominal fee ($25 USD) for the full course. (ISTAART members please contact the ISTAART office for your registration code.)

COURSE ORGANIZERS:
Maria I. Lapid, MD
IPA Board Member and Course Co-Chair
Professor of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; United States


Corbett Schimming, MD
Course Co-Chair
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; United States


Mary Sano, PhD
IPA Past President and Course Lead
Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director of Research and Development at James J. Peters Veterans Hospital, New York, NY; United States


  PROGRAMS:  
Anxiety Problems in Older Adults
Olga Brawman-Mintzer, MD
Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina
Roper St. Francis Research and Innovation Center, SC; United States

Session Focus: Diagnosis, treatment and management of late life anxiety
Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand the epidemiology of anxiety disorders in the elderly, including prevalence, course, impact, comorbidity and disability
2. Know clinical presentation,assessment(s), and evaluation of late-life anxiety disorders
3. Understand treatment and management approaches to late life anxiety disorders

 
Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD): Pharmacologic Treatment Approaches

Corbett Schimming, MD
Course Co-Chair
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY; United States

Session Focus: Overview of pharmacologic approaches to behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD)
Upon completion of this session, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand the repercussions of BPSD
2. Describe pharmacological treatment options that may be helpful for patients with BPSD
3. Describe a sequential pharmacological approach to BPSD when non-pharmacological interventions are ineffective

Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD): Understanding non-pharmacologic approaches

Nicola Lautenschlager, MD, FRANZCP
Director: Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne
Director of Research: Aged Persons Mental Health Program, NorthWestern Mental Health; Melbourne, Australia

Alissa Westphal, BAppSc (OccTher) hons, GradDipSc (AppStat)
Lecturer in Dementia Care and Occupational Therapist
Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, The University of Melbourne; Melbourne, Australia

Session focus: Non-pharmacologic approaches to behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD)
Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand that non-pharmacological approaches are first-line treatment for BPSD
2. Appreciate the importance of an holistic and person centred care approach
3. Recognize the complexity of delivering high quality non-pharmacological approaches in practice

Delirium in Older Adults: Challenges in Diagnosis and Management

Sophia Wang, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine; IN, United States

Session Focus: Delirium in Older Adults
Upon completion of this program attendees will be able to:

1. Explain how to diagnose and manage hypoactive delirium
2. Explain how to diagnose and manage hyperactive delirium, particularly in patients with pre-existing dementia and/or psychiatric disorders
3. Understand the long-term consequences of delirium in survivors of critical illness

Dementia Early Stages and Prevention

Mary Sano, PhD
IPA Past President and Course Lead
Professor of Psychiatry and  Director of the Alzheimer's disease Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Director of Research and Development at James J. Peters Veterans Hospital, NY; United States

Session Focus: Diagnosis, treatment and management of cognitive impairment and dementia
Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand the steps to assessing cognitive complaints
2. Know the most important aspects of cognitive testing and evaluation
3. Present treatment, prevention and management strategies

Geriatric Depression

George Grossberg, MD
IPA Past President
Samuel W. Fordyce Professor and Director of Geriatric Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine; MO,  United States

Session Focus: Late-Life Depression
Upon completion of this session, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand the prevalence and impact of late-life depression worldwide
2. Apply knowledge relative to differential diagnosis, risk factors and protective factors vis a vis late-life depression
3. Target appropriate non-pharmacologic, pharmacologic, and neuromodulatory approaches to the treatment of late-life depression

Human Rights Frameworks; A UN Treaty for Older People's Human Rights, Capacity Assessment

Carmelle Peisah, MBBS FRANZCP MD
Conjoint Professor, Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of New South Wales; Clinical Associate Professor Sydney University; and Founder and President of the charity Capacity Australia; Sydney, Australia

Session Focus: Capacity and Human Rights
Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Understand current human rights frameworks and the current advocacy for older persons' human rights
2. Understand how clinicians can support the human rights of older persons in their everyday practice
3. Understand the basic principles of capacity assessment

Non-Alzheimer's Dementia

Hillel Grossman, MD
Co-Director of the Clinical Research Core of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Clinical Director of the Mount Sinai Memory and Aging Center; NY, United States

Session Focus: Dementias other than Alzheimer's Disease (non-AD)

Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Appreciate the historical derivation of the concept of dementia and its later fractionation into a dementia typology.
2. Review the clinical characteristics of non-AD dementias including natural history, presentation, distinct lab and neuroimaging features for vascular, Lewy Body and Frontotemporal (FTD) dementias 
3. Explore treatment and management particularities for these non-AD dementias

Palliative Care in People with Dementia

Raymond Koopmans, MD, PhD
Elderly care physician and Professor in elderly care, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Department of Primary and Community Care, Nijmegen, Netherlands

Session Focus: Palliative Care

Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Knowledge of the recommendations of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) white paper on defining palliative care in dementia
2. To apply knowledge and research underlying the white paper recommendations in clinical practice
3. Knowledge of possible differences in palliative care approached between people with late onset and young onset dementia

Prevention of Suicide in Later Life: Clinical and Public Health Perspectives

Yeates Conwell, MD
Professor and Vice Chair, Co-Director of the Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, Director of the Geriatric Psychiatry Program of the Department of Psychiatry, Director of the University of Rochester Medical Center's Office for Aging Research and Health Services; NY, United States

Session Focus: Older Adult Suicide
Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Appreciate the scope of the problem of suicide in older adults
2. Understand factors that place older people at increased risk for suicide
3. Understand the evidence for effective approaches to its prevention

Psychological Aspects of Aging: Concepts of Successful Aging, Resilience, Wisdom and Impact

Dilip Jeste, MD
Editor-in-Chief, International Psychogeriatircs, Senior Associate Dean for Healthy Aging and Senior Care, Estelle and Edgar Levi Chair in Aging, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Neurosciences Director, Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California-San Diego; CA, United States

Session focus: Healthy Aging
Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Recognize predictors of successful psychosocial aging in the community and in mentally ill persons
2. Learn the components of wisdom and possible neurocircuitry involved
3. Apply strategies to promote well-being and successful aging

Sleep Disorders in the Elderly

Clifford Singer, MD
Chief of Geriatric Mental Health and Neuropsychiatry at Acadia Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor; Adjunct Professor at the University of Maine; ME, United States

Session Focus: Sleep, wake and chronobiologic disorders in older adults

Upon completion of this program, attendees will be able to:

1. Be able to describe the complex inter-relationships of sleep, memory, cognition and mood in older adults.
2. Learn the common methodologies used to objectively assess sleep quality in outpatients.
3. Apply knowledge to create case-based treatment plans for sleep disorders in older adults.