Geriatric psychiatry in Chicago, IL, is a necessary service. It’s a niche form of psychiatry aimed at elderly adults, and it is necessary to the mental health and well-being of these patients. If you have elderly parents, you might want to know if they could benefit from geriatric psychiatry in Chicago, IL, and the answer is, yes, they can. There are valid reasons why a psychiatrist would choose this field of practice.
Alzheimer’s and Dementia
A lot of physical and biological changes occur in the human brain as it ages. Deterioration of brain matter and cells is common but keeping one’s brain elastic isn’t difficult. By seeing a geriatric psychiatrist, your parents can receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia sooner and enter treatment to delay physical decline earlier. Keeping the brain healthy while talking through these changes is what a geriatric psychiatrist does best.
Emotional Changes
It’s not just the physical changes with aging that cause elderly people so much distress. It’s the emotional rollercoaster that comes with it. You may have noticed that one or both of your parents cries one moment and laughs the next. This may be physical, emotional, or both.
It helps to address the emotional changes at the same time that the physical changes are addressed in order to maintain a healthy status. The geriatric psychiatrist can tell you what is considered “normal” for your parents’ ages versus what should be treated with medication and/or psychiatric care. An evaluation appointment for each parent you care for helps find out what you need to do for them.
