Pikes Peak Model

1. The interaction of life span development with increased neurological and health problems in later life leads to a focus on cognitive changes, functional changes, and specific presentations of psychopathology in later adulthood as foundations of clinical practice with older adults.
It is important for geropsychologist to understand the interaction of life span development in later life because as we learned in Chapter 2 it is well established that intelligence changes across the lifespan. Older adults show a variability in declines in cognitive changes, functional changes, and psychopathology. These differences do not decline in the same way, but some individuals will decline more than others. Geropsychologists help lay the foundations of
Generally, assessments and instruments are designed for younger people and then used on older people as a comparison in performance. Methods suited and tailored towards the older adult population would produce differing results and assist in revealing more about the aging process (Stuart-Hamilton, 2012).
3. A core foundational competency of the Pikes Peak model is respect for older adults and awareness of one’s own ageist biases.
It is important for geropsychologist to be aware of their own ageist biases because as we learned in Chapter 5, the way we treat and regard older adults is shaped by attitudes to ageing. Geropsychologist have a professional duty of care towards older adults, but still can have ageist attitudes. This can lead to older patients being treated differently in comparison to younger patients and being undertreated (Stuart-Hamilton,
For example, we all have vision changes. The most common is presbyopia, which generally happens around age 40. This is why those magnifying eyeglasses at the pharmacy can be sold widely. Now, this does not mean we all will have the same severity or extent. As for an abnormal aging experience, Alzheimer’s disease is a great example. Not all older adults develop Alzheimer's disease. And not all memory changes will radically affect someone's ability to self-care, the severity and other factors play a role. Alzheimer's disease is NOT a part of normal aging, it is a pathological aspect of the aging process associated with age (age-related, but NOT age determined); which means you become more susceptible with age, but does not mean you will get it (Stuart-Hamilton, 2012).
5. Training in geropsychology includes facilitated experiences to gain self-awareness about one’s responses to aging that vary by health status (e.g., frail as well as healthy aging), cultural and individual identities (e.g., wealthy or poor, rural or urban, ethnic identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious identity, disability status), and also diverse historical cohort