Mental Health in Aging

This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of psychological aspects of aging. this course will be organized into three broad sections. 1) In the first section of this course, you will become aware of the increasing population of older adults, methods in aging studies, biological theories, physical changes, quality of life and longevity, common diseases, and person -environment interactions. 2) The second section of this course will cover attentional processes, types of memory, intelligence, and social cognition. 3) For the final section of this course, we will focus on mental health. Specifically learning about changes in personality with age, psychological and cognitive disorders including depression, anxiety, dementia, relationships throughout the lifespan, death and dying, and end of life care. To finish the semester we will reflect back on what we have learned and focus on how we can successfully age and encourage others to do so also.