Specialty · older adults
Therapy for older adults
Later life brings some of the biggest changes any of us face: retirement, the loss of a spouse and friends, shifts in health and independence, grown children and grandchildren, and big questions about meaning and legacy. It can also bring new freedom, creativity and depth. I work with older adults who want support through the hard parts, and company in discovering what this season of life can hold.
Telehealth only, by secure video or audio, for people physically located in California. Laurie, LMFT.
What this work looks like with me
Many of the older adults I work with are thoughtful, experienced people who have handled a great deal in their lives. They are not looking for someone to tell them how to live. They want a place to think out loud, to grieve what needs grieving, and to make sense of a stage of life that can be surprisingly disorienting, even for people who have planned for it.
Loss is often part of the picture. With each passing year, many people lose friends, siblings, a spouse, a home, a role or a sense of physical ease. Losses can pile up faster than there is time to grieve them. Grief is my primary specialty, and we can give each loss its due, so that they do not fuse into a general heaviness.
We also make room for what is still unfolding. Retirement can open time for creativity, learning, service and relationships that were crowded out for decades. Some people want to reconnect with music, art, nature or faith. Some want to repair relationships with adult children, or pass on what they have learned. Positive change is possible at every age, and I enjoy helping people find it.
Throughout, the aim is more peace, joy, purpose and fulfillment in your relationship to your life, yourself, the people you love, and whatever you understand as greater than yourself.
It is never too late to feel more at peace.
A new chapter is still a chapter of your own.
What older adults often bring
Retirement and identity
Leaving work can mean losing structure, status, colleagues and purpose all at once. Who are you when you are no longer what you did? It is a question worth exploring, not rushing.
Accumulated loss
The deaths of a spouse, friends and siblings, and the loss of homes, communities and physical abilities. Grief in later life often comes in layers.
Health changes
A diagnosis, chronic pain or reduced mobility can bring fear, frustration and grief for the body you had. We work with the emotional side of these changes, alongside your medical care.
Family relationships
Adult children, grandchildren, blended families and old tensions. Later life can bring chances for repair and closeness, and sometimes new strains.
Meaning and legacy
What has my life been about? What do I want the years ahead to hold? These questions can be unsettling, and they can also lead somewhere rich.
How we would work
We start with a free 20-minute consult by phone, text or video. You tell me what is on your mind, and I tell you honestly whether I think I can help. There is no pressure in that call and no obligation afterward.
If we go ahead, sessions are by secure video or audio anywhere in California. If video feels unfamiliar, audio-only sessions work well too, and the technology is simpler than most people expect. There is no driving, no parking and no waiting room. I draw on what fits you, including reflective and expressive work, Internal Family Systems, mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and EMDR for old memories that still carry a charge (I am EMDR certified).
- Retirement and changes in identity
- Grief after the loss of a spouse, friends or siblings
- Adjusting to health changes or chronic illness
- Loneliness and isolation
- Relationships with adult children and grandchildren
- Caring for a spouse or partner
- Meaning, legacy, faith and the questions of later life
Questions older adults ask
- I have never been to therapy. Is it too late to start?
- Not at all. Many people come to therapy for the first time later in life, often after a loss or a major change. You bring decades of experience and self-knowledge with you, and that tends to make the work rich and focused.
- I am not comfortable with video calls.
- That is fine. We can meet by audio only, which is simply a phone-style conversation over a secure connection. Many people find audio sessions relaxing, because there is no screen to look at. If you would like to try video later, we can.
- Is this just about grief and loss?
- No. Grief is often part of later life, but so are creativity, relationships, faith, purpose and new beginnings. Some people come with a specific problem, and others simply want to live this chapter more fully and wisely. Both are welcome.
- Can I see you if I split my time between California and another state?
- Therapy with me is available whenever you are physically in California at the time of the session. If you spend part of the year elsewhere, we can pause while you are away and resume when you return. If you would like support while you are out of state, Positive Life Coaching may be an option, though coaching is not therapy and is not licensed mental-health treatment.
This season of life deserves care too
Whether you are facing a loss, a change, or simply a wish to live these years more fully, please reach out. Text or email and we will find a time to talk. Telehealth only, by secure video or audio, for people physically located in California. Laurie, LMFT.