Fourteen per cent of Hong Kong's population is aged 65 or older, a figure that is expected to increase to 30 per cent by 2040. With urbanisation and modernisation changing the roles of older people, seniors face a new set of pressures.
Some older adults feel isolated by a greater focus on the individual. They feel they are cut off from younger members of the family who have different values, a greater affinity for global values compared to traditional values, and may not even share the same language or dialect as their elders.
Older patients can be psychologically stronger than the young, but they often have a smaller social support network
The elderly face other life transitions too: losing friends or loved ones, a diminishing support system, moving into long-term care, coping with economic hardship, facing ill health and mortality, and the burden they feel they impose on loved ones.
These adjustments can challenge their mental health.
Counselling has always existed to help individuals cope with life transitions. It was once more informal, directed by religious practitioners, physicians and community elders.
It has now become much more formalised and professional. Gerontological counselling is an integral part of palliative care for the elderly in Hong Kong.
