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Ricerche di Psicologia/Psychological Research Journal - Open Access

Articoli

N. 4 (2021)

Ageismo e psicologi: breve narrative review della letteratura

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/rip2021oa13312
Inviata
8 febbraio 2022
Pubblicato
10-02-2022

Abstract

Non sono molti gli studi e le ricerche sull’ageismo in Italia e limitate sono anche le casistiche. Eppure, l’aumento della popolazione anziana è un dato costante nel nostro paese, come in Europa e in tutto l’occidente industrialmente avanzato. Gli esperti di psicogeriatria, o coloro che tra gli psicologi scelgono di occuparsi a livello valutativo, clinico, assistenziale, trattamentale, terapeutico, di soggetti in età geriatrica, sono una netta minoranza, rispetto ad aree, bisogni, fasce di età, maggiormente frequentati dai professionisti della salute mentale (si pensi alla età evolutiva, all’adolescenza, o alla età adulta). Eppure, l’aumento notevole dei soggetti anziani comporta la presenza di bisogni di salute, anche e soprattutto psicologica, fino ad ora poco considerati e per questo i professionisti della salute e del benessere mentale sono chiamati a fare uno sforzo per riconoscerli e per poter poi calibrare i loro interventi clinici, assistenziali e terapeutici. L’ageismo, cioè il pregiudizio nei confronti di soggetti in età geriatrica, può caratterizzare anche gli operatori dell’area sociosanitaria, tra cui gli psicologi. Il presente lavoro fa parte di un progetto di ricerca molto più ampio, ancora in fase di implementazione, e vuole rappresentare un iniziale contributo di ricerca di letteratura sul tema ageismo e psicologi.

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