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Assist Older Adults
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All Social Workers Benefit from Training in Gerontology

Michael Tiratira, MSW

Coney Island Hospital
Assertive Community Treatment
(ACT) Program
HPPAE Fellow: 2008
(Above) Mr. Tiratira counseling an older adult client on the Boardwalk near Coney Island Hospital.

Michael Tiratira, MSW, was a social worker in the mental health field when he decided to return to school for a master’s degree. During his first year at Columbia University School of Social Work his mentor, Ada Chan Yuk-Sim Mui, PhD, Hartford National Research Mentor in the Faculty Scholar’s Program, convinced him to apply to the Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education, which was available through a grant to Hartford Faculty Scholar Victoria Rizzo. “I was hesitant because I didn’t know how field placements in gerontology would apply to the mental health field,” says Mr. Tiratira.

Mr. Tiratira’s first field placement was in a subacute rehabilitation hospital conducting psychosocial assessments. He particularly remembers a client he did an interview with for StoryCorps, a nationwide oral history project. “She was able to talk about her life and validate her experiences, which brightened her spirits and provided clarity for her,” says Mr. Tiratira. “It also had a great impact on me,” he says. “I was able to witness first hand something I had only learned in theory—that reminiscence therapy really does help older adults.”

Mr. Tiratira’s second field placement was with the Department for the Aging, where he assisted with crisis case management for older adults threatened with eviction. In his third field placement he provided counseling to caregivers.

After graduation, Mr. Tiratira took a position at Coney Island Hospital in New York City on an Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) team. This team, consisting of social workers, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, and substance abuse counselors, provides comprehensive treatment services for severely mentally ill adults. The goal is to help them stay on their medications, access resources, recover and reintegrate into the community, which results in decreased utilization of inpatient and emergency services.

“Many of my clients are over age 60,” says Mr. Tiratira. “When I started meeting older clients, the education and experiences I had in graduate school immediately kicked in.” Mr. Tiratira now knows that resources are available for these clients in addition to those for mental health. He also is more attuned to considerations specific to aging. In assessing clients he is sensitive to distinguishing what may be due to mental illness, dementia, or simply normal aging.

Many of Mr. Tiratira’s older clients are dealing with a transition from independence to the need for more assistance. “I’m able to talk with them about the grieving aspect of the loss of independence and hopefully prevent them from slipping into depression,” he says.

“The gerontology internships in graduate school were invaluable,” says Mr. Tiratira. “I’m better able to identify exactly what a person needs, taking into account issues of both persistent mental illness and aging.”



Next: Field Placements in Aging Settings:
Profile of Anne Millheiser, MSW, LSW ›