Seniors & Behavioral Health

Evidence-Based Practices

• ​PEARLS
• IDEAS​​

Promising Practices

• Alameda County:  GART
• CA "Friendship Line"
• Los Angeles: PEARLS
• Monterey County: Senior Peer Counseling
• Placer County: Senior Peer Counseling  5-minute Video 
• San Bernardino County: AgeWise
• San Diego County:  Geriatric Certificate Program
• Siskiyou County: Six Stone Wellness
• Tulare County:  Visalia Adult Integrated Care
• Veterans: Older Veteran Behavioral Health Resource Inventory, US Department of Veterans Affairs​

Issue Brief

Older Adult Issue Brief​

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Workforce/Training

• Geriatric Training—On-line courses: SDSU
• MH First Aid Training for professionals and volunteers who work with Older Adults (such as Meals on Wheels, Community Centers, Residential and Hospice Care)
• Peer Specialists offer experience-based support. Examples: Pool of Consumer Champions; Alliance on Aging Peer Counseling  

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CA Association of Area Agencies on Aging – C4A

Position Paper:  Social Isolation
​Position Paper, LTC Ombudsman
Position Paper, Nutrition

Local Area Agencies On Aging: ​ https://aging.ca.gov/Find_Services_In_My_County/​

Reports/Papers/Webinars

Understanding Behavioral Health Needs in Older Adults: Facts and Services, California Commission on Aging

California Mental Health Older Adult System of Care Project, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

​How Discrimination in Health Care Affects Older Americans, and What Health Systems and Providers Can Do, The Commonwealth Fund 2022

Reviewing & Advising re: Older Adults (CALBHB/C) ​​PowerPoint-Only  (PDF)

​Preparing for the Mental Health Needs of Older Adults, SAMHSA 
Webinar    Slides (PDF)
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Older Adults and Isolation during COVID-19 Webinar, Mental Health America

2021-2022 Older Adult Behavioral Health
NSDUH | National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Find key substance use, mental health, and treatment indicators among adults aged 60 or older in the United States, by gender. Estimates were based on combined data from the 2021 and 2022 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).
Older Adults Experiencing First Episode Psychosis & Late Onset of Serious Mental Illness, CA Behavioral Health Planning Council, June 2019

Aging and Addicted:  The Opioid Epidemic Affects Older Adults Too,
Kaiser Health News, 2016

CA Mental Health Older Adult System of Care Project: Proposed Outcomes & Indicators for Older Adult Public Mental Health Services,
​UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
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Mental Health and Older Adults, World Health Organization, 2016