Group Work with Elderly Visually Impaired Persons

Abstract

Although much has been done to aid blind and partially-sighted individuals with the physical aspects of their rehabilitation, less attention has been paid to the psychological and emotional adjustment that becomes necessary after any severe vision loss. In this article, the author summarizes her observations following a one-year period during which she acted as a mental health consultant and provided group therapy for clients of an agency serving a primarily aged blind population. The uses and effects of group therapy with these clients are discussed. Some ideas are offered for overcoming clients’ resistance to mental health services and for facilitating their emotional adjustment to visual loss by using nontraditional techniques of group therapy.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Cholden

L.S.

A psychiatrist works with blindness. New York: American Foundation for the Blind, 1958.

Finestone

, Whiteman

, Lowry

, and Lukoff

Social casework and blindness. New York: American Foundation for the Blind, 1960.

Northen

Social work with groups. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.

Saterbak

Developments and research needs in work with the aged blind. In Goldberg

, Swinton

(Eds.), Blindness research: The expanding frontiers. University Park: Pennsylvania University Press, 1969.

Winkler

The blind: Psychological and emotional needs. In Turner

F. J.

(Ed.), Differential diagnosis in social work. New York: Free Press, 1968.