Category Archives: Mental Illness and Addiction

Past Free Webcast – Gray Matters: Understanding Substance Use Disorders in Older Adults – January 19th, 2022

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Earn 1.5 hrs CEU, pre-approved for Social Workers by BOSW; self-submit other disciplines.
MGS is an approved Continuing Education Resource by the MN Board of Nursing.
(The CEU is free for MGS members; $15 for non-members.)

Presenter: Kay King – National Alliance on Mental Illness of MN (NAMI)

Handout GrayMatters_SubstanceUse 1.19.22

The prevalence of substance use disorder in older adults is increasing as the baby boom generation ages. Alcohol, prescription drugs, and illicit drugs are the leading causes of the increase. High-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder is the leading substance use disorder in older adults. Prescription drug misuse and use disorder in older adults are the second leading cause of substance use disorder. Illicit drug use in older adults is also increasing. As people age, medical conditions, both physical and mental, mask the ability to recognize the impact of substance use, resulting in unexpected and sometimes, very serious outcomes. Screening and assessment of older adults for substance use disorders should be part of regular health visits.

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Past Free Webinar: “Keys to Understanding and Ethically Treating Geriatric Depression and Anxiety,” January 22, 2018

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By: Steven Atkinson, PA-C, MS, Founder & Partner at Twin Cities Physicians

Handout – Ethically Treating Depression and Anxiety

Clinical depression in the elderly is common, affecting approximately 6 million older adults. Being depressed almost always risks a concomitant anxiety disorder. These diagnoses alone heighten other problems, such as cardiac diseases and doubling the risk of death caused by suicide compared with the general population. The problem is only about 10% of those elderly adults ever receive treatment. Evidence for this suggests that depression and anxiety affects older adults differently than younger people, so it often goes under recognized. What may be thought of as a consequence of a co-morbid disease, may actually be depression. This webinar will demonstrate how to recognize the under recognized and give you the best treatment options available.

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