This show will explore “narrative gerontology,” a relatively new interdisciplinary field of research and practice, meaning “life as story” and involving late life.
In the early 1960’s, the gerontologist Robert Butler laid the foundation for life review, asserting that looking back from the vantage point of the present, individuals can re-frame their perspectives of past accomplishments and regrets, overcome bitterness, and move on with greater integrity and new purpose. Interventions that combine narrative and aging include memoir, guided autobiographical writing, reminiscence done in groups in clinical and community settings, and legacy letter writing.
Our guest is a psychologist, gerontology educator, and author, Dr. Paula Hartman-Stein. She has used narrative gerontology interventions with individuals in her clinical practice and led inter-generational writing groups in the community, and using case examples, will explain how the pen has power to promote optimal aging.
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