While the image of a therapist’s couch in a cozy office might still come to mind, a new era of mental health counseling is dawning—one that utilizes technology to make support more accessible than ever before. Online therapy, once a niche concept, is rapidly becoming a mainstream solution, offering a wealth of advantages that are reshaping how we seek and receive help. A study comparing telehealth and in-person mental health care found no significant differences in reducing depressive symptoms between the two modalities, suggesting that online therapy is becoming a viable alternative to face-to-face treatment. 

So, What’s the Deal with Online Therapy?

Okay, but what is online therapy, really? Basically, it’s getting mental health counseling and help through your phone or computer. Think video chats, text messaging, or even cool apps. The best part? You can do it all from your couch – no more rushing through traffic or stressing about parking. Secure platforms protect your privacy, so you can feel good about that. It is a seriously flexible and convenient option.

A Fresh Take on Feeling Better: Is Online Therapy Right for You?

These days, it feels like everyone’s talking about mental health – and that’s a good thing! We’re all trying to navigate this crazy world, and sometimes, we just need a little extra support. But let’s be honest, traditional therapy can be a hassle. Maybe it’s tough to find a therapist nearby, your schedule is packed, or you’re just not comfortable with the whole idea of walking into an office. Whatever the reason, these hurdles can stop people from getting the help they desperately need. 

That’s where online therapy comes into the picture. It’s a newer, more accessible way to get support, and it’s really taking off across the country. Thinking about giving it a shot? Here’s the lowdown on why it might be a great option for you.

Why People Are Loving Online Therapy

• It’s Super Accessible: This is a big one. Remember when the pandemic hit? The American Psychological Association found that a whopping 96% of psychologists started seeing patients remotely, just to keep care going during those tough times. That really shows how online therapy can help bridge the gap, especially if you live way out in the boonies or have trouble getting around.
• It Can Be Easier on Your Wallet: Let’s face it, therapy can be pricey. But online therapy is often more affordable than those in-person sessions. A lot of platforms have payment plans and decent prices, which is awesome. Plus, insurance companies are finally starting to cover telehealth, so you might already have that benefit!
• It’s Comfortable and More Private: There’s something about being in your own comfy space that makes it easier to open up about tough stuff. I’ve heard from so many people that they actually feel more connected to their therapist online. A study from PubMed Central found that around 33% of people felt closer to their therapist during online video sessions compared to in-person visits. It’s kind of surprising, but it makes sense, right?
• Tons of Choices: When you go online, you’re not stuck with just the therapists in your town. You can find someone who really gets what you’re going through, whether it’s anxiety in old age, depression, or something else entirely.

Does Online Therapy Actually Work?

You might be thinking, “This sounds great, but is it actually effective?” The short answer is: yes! A study in the Journal of Psychiatric Research compared online therapy to in-person therapy and found they were pretty much equally good at helping with depression. Pretty reassuring, right?

And it’s not just patients who are seeing the benefits. Therapists seem pretty happy with it, too. During the pandemic, a study in Frontiers found that therapists rated its effectiveness pretty high – like a 7.45 out of 10. That says a lot about how well it can work.

And if you are still on the fence, listen to this: A study in Nature showed that less than half (44.5%) of people actually preferred in-person therapy or counseling. A good chunk of folks (25.6%) were into self-guided digital treatments, and almost 20% (19.7%) liked the idea of expert-guided digital therapy. People are definitely warming up to the online option!

It’s Not Perfect, But What Is?

Of course, nothing’s perfect. Sometimes the internet can be a pain, and dropped calls are definitely frustrating. And for therapists, it can be a little harder to read body language through a screen, which is important. Seniors, however, can pick up some of our tips on mastering technology.

Plus, there’s the whole legal thing – therapists need to be licensed in your state to offer mental health support, which can make things a little tricky if you’re looking outside your area. It is definitely something to think about.

The Bottom Line

Online therapy and counseling is changing the game when it comes to mental health in America. It’s accessible, affordable, comfortable, and it works. If you’ve been thinking about getting support but are hesitant about traditional therapy, online therapy might be the answer you’ve been looking for. If you want to become a counselor, cheap online masters in counseling degrees may be up your alley.

As we step into this new era of mental health support, remember that help is closer than you think. You’re not alone on this journey, and support is just a click away.

Technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. From YouTube videos to online forums, live-streams to grocery delivery, we have been transported into a new digital age. While younger people who have grown up in this age may have little trouble, it can be difficult to navigate for those not accustomed to technology. 

However, this difficulty is outweighed by the many rewards of using tech. For older adults in particular, investing the time and energy required to become comfortable with technology can have a huge positive impact, from your social life to personal growth. Many activities traditionally done in person have expanded online, one of which being telehealthcare. Though getting started with online healthcare can seem daunting, with the right knowledge and toolset this can become a valuable resource for anyone, no matter their age.

Bridging the digital divide

Often, it can feel like there is an unbridgeable gap or divide between those who “can” and “cannot” use technology. This is especially the case for older adults, where factors such as affordability, lack of training, and accessibility issues can prevent you from engaging with modern technology. Despite this, there are several strategies that can be implemented to help you develop, hone, or perfect your technological skills.

The factors at play

The first step to achieving technological prowess is understanding what factors are holding you back. For older adults, a common factor is simply a lack of access to technology. You may not have your own device, or have an older model that does not support many features. You may also be dealing with age-related issues including hearing loss, decreased vision, cognitive decline, or the loss of motor skills. All of these are natural parts of growing older, but can definitely become hindrances with newer technologies, which are often designed with a younger audience in mind. 

The impacts of this divide

Also important to understand are the impacts that this digital divide can have. Specifically for elders, feeling disconnected from technology can lead you to feel disconnected from friends and family, as well as society as a whole. Watching the younger generation be tuned in to their phones all day can be quite isolating when you don’t know how to join in, and can lead to a loss of connection with family members. 

Alongside this, the digital divide can limit your access to doctors and healthcare information. An increasing number of scientific papers and journals are only posted online, meaning that the internet is becoming essential in staying up to date on the latest developments in healthcare. In addition, if you are living in a remote area or have mobility issues, getting to doctor’s appointments can be made significantly easier with online options—a lack of access to these services can cause health issues to go unresolved.

Benefits of bridging the gap

On the positive side, these previously mentioned issues can be turned into benefits when you’ve learned to use technology. By bridging the digital divide, you will be able to immensely increase your social circle, feel better connected to family, and improve access to helpful healthcare services—all while improving your brain’s health.

Social life

Using the internet is a fantastic way to connect with new people. With just a simple Google search, you can find clubs, events, and social groups for just about every topic or activity; there truly is something for everyone. Platforms such as Facebook and Meetup often have an assortment of events listed, with the ability to search by area, activity, and skill level. As we age, our social circles tend to grow smaller—learning to use technology can allow you to open yourself to experiences that you wouldn’t have otherwise. 

Learning to use technology can also be a great bonding opportunity for you and your family. It can feel difficult to relate to your younger relatives, as times have changed so dramatically in the past few decades. Having common experiences of struggling with technology or exchanging tips can really bring your family together again. Some hobbies, such as playing chess for example, can be moved into the digital world; you might try organizing times to play against each other online or over a video call as a way to interact with family more often.

Healthcare

Having access to the internet also opens up a whole world of possibilities in terms of healthcare. Options to attend doctor’s appointments virtually can also lower your risks of exposure to hospital-acquired infections, which can be particularly detrimental to those who are older. In a review by the National Library of Medicine, it was noted that the immune system becomes dramatically weaker after the sixth decade of life. While a variety of measures are taken to minimize viral spread, the risks of catching something are still quite high when visiting a doctor in person, especially for those with weaker immune systems. If you are an older adult, consulting a doctor virtually can help to negate your risks of exposure.

Cognition

Learning new skills has been proven to improve your brain’s health. According to the Central Connecticut State University, learning new things has been shown to increase myelin growth on nerve axons. Myelin acts as an insulator for nerves, and so having more myelin allows our neurons to improve the speed of their signaling. Interestingly, this is especially true for older adults, so there is no reason to think that you are “too old” to learn new things—it’s actually quite the opposite! Myelin growth is also particularly effective when new experiences are repeated, meaning that the action of practicing technology use is a fantastic thing for your brain’s continued development.

Starting your technological journey

Now that you know the benefits of learning to use technology, chances are that you would like to start. However, it’s also likely that you’re unsure of where to begin. Using the following tips can help to get you on the right track!

Talk to family

As mentioned earlier, getting your family involved when learning technology can be a fantastic way to bond and connect with relatives, especially those who are younger. You might consider setting up weekly or biweekly visits to tackle tech problems or find new pages to save and bookmark—which is an incredibly useful feature—as a way to catch up and reconnect. 

Having your family present when starting out can also be helpful for adjusting settings to suit your needs. For those with accessibility needs, such as vision or hearing loss, there are a number of settings which you might want to check out. These include things like font size, contrast, and caret navigation, and can make your device easier to use. If you have a touch screen device, using a stylus may also help as age can cause dry fingertips, which are harder for the device to recognize.

Try online courses

Whatever the reason, some of us do not have family who we can rely on for help. If that is the case (or if you simply want to supplement your learning) there are courses both online and in person that are dedicated to helping older adults with tech. These can also be great ways to meet and connect with new people or, if you are content with the friends you currently have, can be done with people you already know.

Practice regularly, and be patient

Just as any other skill, becoming comfortable with using technology requires patience, time, and practice. Try setting aside time each day to practice, even if it’s just for 15 minutes or so—the key here is consistency, not duration. Practice also does not have to be painful either! Playing a game like solitaire, chess, scrabble, or doing puzzles online can be a great way to get practice in while still having fun.

Telehealth: what is it?

Once you are comfortable with using tech, you will be able to reap the rewards! As mentioned before, there are many great uses for tech; one of the most useful applications of technology for older adults is telehealth.

Telehealth is a broad term which encompasses any healthcare that is provided remotely, using technology. There are several types of telehealth, which can be organized into three main categories: synchronous, asynchronous, and remote monitoring.

Types of telehealth

Synchronous telehealth involves live communication between the patient and the healthcare provider. This can range from audio-visual video calling to text-only messaging, based on what the patient prefers, and what the situation may be—for example, synchronous video calls are used to assess acute (sudden) conditions, while synchronous text messaging may be used to treat chronic (long term) conditions and provide resources. Synchronous telehealth also includes scheduled appointments, such as online therapy sessions.

While synchronous telehealth happens in real time, asynchronous telehealth does not. As a result, according to the US government’s Telehealth Guide, asynchronous telehealth is “often used for patient intake or follow-up care” rather than immediate treatment. These services can be used to send and store vital information, such as photos, laboratory results, and past medical histories. As you grow older, it is common to accumulate a long history of past medical issues or procedures; being able to input these details on your own time without worrying about appointment length can be very beneficial.

The third main type of telehealth is remote monitoring, or the use of digital monitoring devices to keep track of a patient’s health. This is a subtype under the asynchronous telehealth umbrella and does not involve live patient-provider communication. Rather, the data is collected and transmitted to the provider who can then look over the results with or without the patient. These remote patient monitoring devices can be especially helpful for older adults, as they can help to keep tabs on chronic conditions like high blood pressure, kidney diseases, heart issues, and other conditions which become more common as you age.

Applications of Telehealth for Older Adults

While telehealth is beneficial for just about anyone, it can be an especially helpful tool for older adults. As the World Health Organization explains, “aging results from the impact of the accumulation of a wide variety of molecular and cellular damage over time (leading) to a gradual decrease in physical and mental capacity (and) a growing risk of disease”. These elevated risks of disease directly translate to an increase in doctors visits, appointments, and procedures—which then lead to elevated risks of exposure to hospital germs, general fatigue from commutes to the hospital, and other unpleasant effects. 

While telehealth cannot immediately alleviate chronic pain symptoms or cure diseases, it can lower the stress of travelling to and from your appointments. Being able to contact your doctor to ask questions can also put your mind at ease quickly.

Utilizing telehealth: what to expect

While telehealth is designed to be as transparent and easy to use as possible, it is natural to have reservations about starting something new. Below, we have outlined what to expect before, during, and after a routine telehealth appointment.

Before your appointment

Not all healthcare can be administered virtually. If you have not heard about telehealth already, try asking your doctor whether telehealth would be an option for you. If it is, your next step is to begin coordinating with them to set up an appointment; this can be done during an in-person appointment or from your own home. 

If this is your first time setting up an appointment from home, consider having a caregiver or family member there to guide you through the process. It may also be helpful to have them present for the first few sessions, until you are comfortable with setting them up on your own. After you have joined successfully, they could stay in the room or leave if you wish. As with any doctor’s appointment, you will likely need to discuss sensitive topics, such as depression, anxiety, or physical ailments; having them leave the room may make this easier. On the other hand, having a trusted family member, friend, or caregiver may make this easier. Take some time to figure out what you would like to happen, and be sure to communicate this with everyone involved before the appointment starts.

Certain changes can also be made to suit your accessibility needs. For those who have hearing loss, some programs have a “speech-to-text” option which can provide live captioning during audio calls. If you have visual impairments, audio-only calls will work well, and should you want to look at something on the screen, changing the display settings to “high contrast mode” can help to make things more distinguishable. 

During your appointment

Appointments can range from 10 minutes to an hour long, depending on your needs—a quick check-up will naturally be shorter than a detailed therapy session. On average, sessions are likely to be around 15 minutes, but this can usually be adjusted to fit your lifestyle. 

The appointment itself should be very similar to an in-person visit to a doctor. Your provider will assess any complaints you may have, discuss treatment options, and create a treatment plan for you. Sometimes, they may request you come in for testing or lab work, or request that you send them a picture of a particular area. For example, if you have a rash, they may ask for a better look by using a close-up photo. 

After your appointment

After your appointment, you should receive a post-appointment message of some kind from your healthcare provider. This can be via email, text, or phone call, and will usually include a summary of the appointment, resources, and any next steps to follow. For those with sensory impairments, you should be able to request that resources be sent in an accessible format—print, email, video, etc—to ensure that you are able to look through them without issues.

A final note on internet safety

While the internet is full of fantastic resources, services, and people, there are also many malicious scams and fraudulent services that aim to gain access to personal and financial information. Unfortunately, many of these will directly target elderly people, as you are less used to technology and more vulnerable to manipulation.

Common tactics include phone scams, where scammers will contact you and pretend to be from a trusted source, like a bank, and ask for personal details such as account information or passwords. This can also happen by email or text messages. If you are ever unsure of the legitimacy of an email—especially if it contains links, which can be used to infect your computer with malware—contact your family or caregivers to have them double check. It’s better to be safe than sorry! 

Above all, remember that practice makes progress—not perfection. If you suspect that you have been scammed, or are having issues with anything else, you should never feel ashamed. In fact, asking for help might just be the key to your future technological success.

For young people, retirement can be a vague and far-off concept. The idea that you don’t have to go to work seems like a fantasy when you’re young. Instead of working, you get to go on a permanent vacation where your time is, for the most part, your own. That can mean spending all day in your garden, taking a cruise you’ve always dreamed of, or just becoming one with the sofa and watching TV.

However, it’s important to remember that retirement is a monumental transition in an older person’s life, and like all big life transitions, it can wreak havoc on one’s mental health in ways that we can’t fathom in our younger days. According to a report by CBS News, an estimated 29% of retirees suffer some form of depression. Who expects to be depressed when they retire?

As our parents reach retirement age, we want to be there for them as much as possible. We want to help them transition smoothly into this new phase of their life. Our parents do and will need this help, even if they don’t want to admit it. Whether it means staying in their home, staying with you, or staying in a retirement facility, we want to make our parent’s golden years their best. So, it’s important to help care for our older loved ones’ mental health as much as their physical health.

In this blog, we’ll explore some issues that seniors face when entering retirement and how you can be the steady hand that guides your loved ones through the potentially troubled waters of retirement.

How Retirement Impacts Mental Health

For some, it may come as a surprise that the prospect of retirement can trigger mental health issues in senior citizens. We urge you to consider the fact that when a person retires, a major chapter of their life has ended. The day after they retire, your parents are faced with a new reality and they may need your help.

The Shift in Identity from Worker Bee to Retiree

For so many of us, our identity is tied to our jobs. How many times have you met someone new, and within seconds of meeting each other, one of the first questions is, “So what do you do?” When an older person retires from their career, they do, in effect, lose a part of themselves– one they have spent decades building. This can be even worse for older people with little to no interests outside their jobs. Our parents have an identity, a role to fill, and a purpose at their job, no matter what the job is. When they retire, our parents will have to adjust to a new reality, especially if they have had one job for a long time.  

At first, your parents might feel happy and relieved not to have the responsibilities they once had, especially if they were in a position of authority. It’s can be a dream to go from “How do I fix this?” to “Not my problem!” In turn, that may even lead our newly retired parents to ask questions like “Who am I now?” There is also a social-psychological aspect to consider. Even if our parents complain about working every day, they will still miss the job. Not only  are they saying goodbye to their work, but also relationships with colleagues that they have spent years developing. Many of those work relationships will be severed upon retirement, which can feel very isolating.

Not all older people like our parents are as mentally ready for retirement as they think they are, even if they long for it. As first reported by Forbes, in 2022, OnePoll surveyed a thousand recent retirees, 32% of whom said they wished they had kept working longer in their careers, while another 32% admitted they didn’t feel well prepared for the day-to-day realities of retirement.

Loss of Routine and Structure

It’s been well established that having a routine is positive for our mental health for a variety of reasons. Having a set routine helps us to feel less stressed, sleep better, be happier, and be happier overall. When our parents retire, their daily routine drastically changes. Instead of doing what they have done for decades, getting up, eating, showering, and commuting to work, they can now sleep in and do literally nothing. Sometimes, we can grow so accustomed to a routine that our body seems to be doing everything while our brain is still asleep. 

The same is true for our parents, who have been generally working longer than we have. For some, having that newfound freedom can be a welcome change. For others, the lack of routine can feel overwhelming or even lead to feelings of depression and anxiety and may potentially trigger addiction issues. When our parents retire, it’s a good idea to encourage them to keep certain routines or even develop new ones to help keep them more grounded.

Financial Anxiety

As our parents get closer to retirement, one of the biggest questions they may ask is, “Can I even afford to retire?” In a perfect world, when our parents retire, they will have enough savings to last the next thirty years of their lives and allow them to live comfortably. The thing is, that’s not always the case. Not all retirees are financially secure enough to leave their jobs, which can bring on feelings of negativity. 

On top of the typical worries about being able to afford living expenses and so on, sometimes our parents may feel a sense of shame. They may end up kicking themselves for not doing more to prepare for retirement now that it’s looking them directly in the eye. None of us want to see our parents or older loved ones go through that. As your parents are near retirement age, sitting with them and discussing their finances may be a good idea. At the very least, it could help to get rid of some of their anxiety by speaking about it openly.

Most Common Mental Health Issues Seniors Face In Retirement

On paper, retirement should be the best time of our lives, right? No doubt our parents thought so. After a half-century of being workforce members, they’ve more than earned it. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Mental health issues that arise can put a dark cloud over their golden years. As such, we need to watch out for all-too-common mental health issues that may arise after retirement.

The Retirement Blues

Depression is unfortunately very common for retirees, to the point where some have called it “The Retirement Blues.” Feelings of depression may be prevalent in older people if they are forced to retire. Meanwhile, some retired people may immediately check things off their bucket list by doing everything they have wanted to do for decades. As great as that can be, it can also lead to a problem. Once those retirement goals have been achieved and everything has been checked off the list, your parents may be left with a sense of depression. After your parents have done everything they wanted to do, they might end up asking, “What’s left?” 

As retirement Coach Scott Miller told CBS News when talking about the transition to retirement:

“People underestimate the amount of change that is about to take place.” It’s not pleasant to think about, but when your parents do retire, being at that age may make some older people even feel that they are now closer to the grave than they are the cradle. This sense of impending finality may cause your parents to feel depressed in the face of their own eventual mortality. Also, it’s not uncommon for older people like your parents to feel a big sense of grief and loss at the huge part of their life that is now over, which is totally normal. Even encouraging your retired parents to volunteer once a week can potentially do a world of good for their mental health.

Anxiety for the Future

One of the nice parts of working is that a job can give us a sense of routine and structure (along with the money, of course). For better or worse, when they were working, our parents generally knew what each day at work would bring. Unless your parents are already financially secure going into retirement, the anxiety can be overwhelming. Any unexpected expenses, be it cost of living, health issues, etc., can worsen things. In a survey conducted by OnePoll for Forbes Health, most new retirees said that financial insecurity had been the most difficult part of retirement. Ideally, our parents will live for at least another thirty years after they retire from working. While the golden years can be exciting, they can also symbolize a frightening and uncertain future.

The Risk of Loneliness

Something to remember is the newfound feeling of loneliness that your parents may now face.  We mentioned the loss of work-related relationships above, but consider for a moment all of the people your parent(s) may have interacted with on a daily basis. If your parent is single or widowed and lives alone, this feeling of social isolation could be even worse now that those daily interactions can no longer be relied upon. Studies have shown that social isolation can lead to or exasperate addiction issues, as well as trigger higher stress levels, sleep issues, and heart disease, among other things.

How We As Children Can Support Our Retired Parents

At the end of the day, one of the best ways to help our parents with their transition into retirement is to be there for them as much as possible. Keep in mind that they don’t have a parent to help them through this like they were there for us during so many formative times in our lives

Communicate openly and clearly

Discussing your parents’ mental health may not be the easiest conversation you have with them, but it’s a vital one. According to the World Health Organization, 15% of people aged 60 and older live with a mental disorder. When you decide to talk to a parent about how they are feeling, remember that your parents may come from a generation where openly talking about things like depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues was looked down upon. If they do decide to speak, listen intently without judgment. It takes a lot of strength and trust to open up. If you are having challenges in the conversation, don’t be afraid to seek telemedicine therapy, phone counseling, or therapy online for additional support.

Help find a hobby or discover a new passion

Hobbies are a great way to help a parent’s mental health when they retire. New activities may be able to give a sense of purpose previously fulfilled by their work. If, for example, your parents get into building puzzles or model cars, there is always a sense of achievement upon completion. If there are passions you share with a parent, this is a great opportunity to expand on that hobby. Along with allowing you to develop a closer bond with your parents, it keeps their mind engaged, gives them a bit of structure, and helps to fight off loneliness.

Encourage Your Parents to build a social life

It’s always a good idea to encourage your newly retired parents to have a social life, especially if they had little to no social life outside of their former job. The great thing here is that there are usually plenty of opportunities for social engagement, depending on your community. Perhaps your parent can become a part of a church group, volunteer, host a weekly bingo game, or just meet up for a daily coffee with friends. These social bonds can do wonders for your parent’s mental and physical health.

Encourage a healthy lifestyle

We’re not saying you should suggest your parents should strive for a six-pack necessarily. Still, it has been proven that exercise is beneficial for mental health, especially when it comes to things like anxiety or depression. Even a simple walk around the block in the fresh air can do wonders.  It’s also important to have a healthy diet to stave off things like type 2 diabetes, which can also impact mental health. Encouraging your newly retired parents to join an aerobics class or a walking club can also fill their exercise and social needs.

Talk to your parents about their financial concerns for the future.

It can be just as hard to talk to a parent about their financial future as it is their mental health.  As your parents are nearing their retirement age and your parent’s financial future, this is a conversation that needs to happen. The last thing we want is for our parents to be stressed out about their finances during their golden years. After all, your parents have worked their entire lives to retire. When you talk to your parents about their financial concerns, your goal is to assist them with financial planning and budgeting for the future. Don’t be afraid to bring a financial planner into the mix to help your parents reach their goals further.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen so far, when our parents and elderly loved ones retire they face a wide array of mental health challenges as they transition into the new phase of life. It can be painful to see a beloved family member get older and lose the sense of who they once were. Some people who retire are able to do so on their own terms, while others are forced into it. In either case, as children, it’s important that we help our parents out at this time. It’s also important to know that there is help, be it through telemedicine or services within your local community. As your parents approach retirement, take the time to talk with them about it for all of you.