Older Adulthood (Kavitha Lakshmanan, MSW, LCSW, CT)
Presenter: Kavitha Lakshmanan, MSW, LCSW, CT
Date(s): April 14, 21, 28, 2027
Time: 6:00-7:15 PM
Sessions: 3
Credits: 3.75
Level: Beginner
Price: $116 (with credits), $25 (without credits)
Hybrid
Description
In this course, we will examine older adulthood, a developmental phase marked by a time of growth, resiliency, and adaptability, as well as decline, despair, and demise. We will consider cultural views of aging, including internalized prejudices towards old age and the dependency that can accompany it. Older adulthood can also offer distinct opportunities for meaning, growth, connection, vitality, and a sense of self-continuity and integrity. Life review processes, including psychotherapy, can offer much in this effort, as we explore thoughts on the essence of a happy, rewarding and fulfilled life.
Course Objectives
- Participants will be able to identify developmental tasks of older adulthood.
- Participants will be able to describe the impact of internalized prejudices towards old age and ageism.
- Participants will be able to identify how death, dying, and bereavement concerns affect older adults.
- Axelrod, S. (2024) Growth in Adulthood: A Revised Psychoanalytic Framework for Adult Development. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 77:126-142
- Brenner, I. (2020) The last witnesses: Learning about life and death from aging survivors. International Journal of Psychoanalysis 101:340-354.
- Ezquerro, A. & Cañete, M. (2023) Older Adults Deserve Better in Society. Attachment: New Directions in Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy 17:212-225
- Physicians: 3.75 Credits
- Psychologists: 3.75 Credits
- Social Workers: 3.75 Credits
- PAs: 3.75 Credits
- Nurses & NPs: 3.75 Nursing Contact Hours
- Pharmacists/Pharmacy Technicians: 3.75 Credits. Pharmacists must claim credits within 30 days and provide their eProfile ID and Birthdate. APsA will not report credits claimed after 30 days or with incomplete information.
- Interprofessional Continuing Education (Counselors, NPs, students): 3.75 Credits
References
About the Presenter
Kavitha, “Kavi”, Lakshmanan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who graduated from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed several post graduate fellowships at the Yale Child Study Center, Advanced Psychodynamic Psychotherapy (APP), and Certification in End of Life (EOL) through Smith College: School for Social Work. Kavi is a certified thanatologist through the Association for Death Education and Counseling, specializing in death, dying, and bereavement.
Kavi is in private practice at West County Psychological Associates, providing individual psychotherapy for adults and older adults using an integrated approach. She is a facilitator for Cancer Support Community Greater St. Louis, where she provides EOL and Cancer Survivorship workshops and leads support groups, free of charge, for anyone affected by cancer. In addition, Kavi has served for many years as a volunteer for BJC Hospice and their Lumina Life Review program.
She can be reached at kavi@wcpastl.com. Kavi is available for supervision and case consultation for licensed practitioners.
Credit Information
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the American Psychoanalytic Association and the St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute. The American Psychoanalytic Association is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Credits Available
Other Profession Types
Other profession types will receive a certificate of attendance upon completion of the activity and online evaluation confirming their participation. Participants may claim credit for recertification; however, their professional organization/institute holds the final say on which accredited activities they accept.
Disclosure Statement
None of the planners and presenters for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s)* to disclose with ineligible companies* whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. There is no commercial support for this activity. APsA verifies that all materials generated by AI are accurate, including cited publications and posttests.
COUNSELORS: The St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5953. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
*Financial relationships are relevant if the educational content an individual can control is related to the business lines or products of the ineligible company. — Updated December 2022



