Mental Wellness in Aging

Judith L. Ronch, Ph.D., is Executive Clinical Director and Founder of LifeSpan DevelopMental Systems, an organization that has established numerous creative, interdisciplinary clinical and training programs to meet the mental health needs of older adults in various parts of the United States. Dr. Ronch consults with the New York State Department of Health on person-centered care for people with Alzheimer's disease; in nursing homes, assisted living, and adult care facilities. Prior to this position he served on the allied health services staff of the Department of Internal Medicine at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York, and as Director of the Four Winds Geriatric Service at the Four Winds Hospital in Katonah, New York. Dr Ronch, Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Gerontological Institute, State University of New York in New Paltz, has served on numerous other boards and committees including the Dementia Advisory committee of the New York State Department of Health. Dr. Ronch is former director of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College of the City University of New York. He has written or contributed to numerous books devoted to issues of aging and strengths-based gerontological approaches, including The Counseling Sourcebook (edited with Van Ornum & Stilwell, Crossroad Publishing Company, 1994) and Alzheimer's Disease: A Practical Guide for Those Who Help Others (Crossroad-Continuum, 1989). In addition, he has published in various journals including Counseling the Aging and Their Families, American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Nursing Home Economics, and American Journal of Alzheimer's Care and Research. Joseph A. Goldfield, M.S.W., received his master's of social work from the University of California at Berkeley. For the past 15 years he has been a nationally recognized lecturer and teacher of strengths-based approaches to psychotherapy. He remains a private practice in New York City, where he also provides consultation on strengths-based interventions to agencies serving aging clients. A faculty member of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College of the City University of New York, Mr. Goldfield also serves as an advisor to various behavioral managed care companies. As an experienced disaster/trauma counselor, Mr. Goldfield was extensively involved in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.