V .,,, .‘ , .__....’ 44.»-' ,-I. ,_.,. _. 24. — OUT IN THE MouNTAINs — APRIL 1998 __he Associates ii: Recovery Janet K. Brown, M.A., C.A.D.C. LICENSED PSYCHOLOGIST - MASTER CERTIFIED ALCOHOL AND DRUG COUNSELOR Jean Townsend, M.A., L.C.M.H.C.- UCENSED CLINICAL MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELOR Burtington. Vermont (802) 863-8162 Milton. Vermont (802) 893-4816 Swedish - Reflexology - Polarity -Reiki Master Bevel with abandonment to a truly great massage rarely found anywhere. And be your best again. Prince Jhorev (802) 785-2244 V James R. Nelson IWACP Psychotherapist Professional Confidential (802) 651 -7764 Burlington, VT05401 lren Smolarski MA Psych.; Ph.D. lit. 658-84_01 Toward Intimacy Group ' for LGBT now forming Fee based on Individual Means Individual 8: Couples Psychotherapy Healing ellbeing Lesbians Challenging Barriers - Making Western Medicine More Accessible - Part III BY CHRISTINE DEROSIERS AND JOY D. GRIFFITH On a more general level, there are several things that can be done to make Western medicine and physicians more accessible to older people. First, there needs to be a break- down of the stereotypes and assumptions held by society regarding older individuals. Younger people need to stop expecting certain simplistic behaviors of older people and stop being surprised when ex- periencing someone with a more complex personality. As 5. T. lamented, ”please see me as a person.” A. P. is often an- gered by the condescension present in words like ”cute.” Younger people must also stop being blinded by the more positive-seeming stereo- types. Both A. P. and J. G., who are politically active in their community, are angered by the classic ”wise old woman” im- age. They often find that people say things about them being wise, but then ignore them during committee meet- ings, or, as J. G. remarked, they are simply token members of the board and have to fight to be heard and respected. They also find that a younger woman will go to one of them, expecting to have her prob- lems solved, and then disap- pear afterwards. One way to help break down these stereotypes is through contact between the generations. This decade has shown that as family ties loosen, and older and younger people cease to work or belong to religious institutions to- gether, there is less and less intergenerational contact, which results in older people ”being seen through” rather than as individuals of worth. Personal attitudes become gen- eralized for the aged as a class. If intergenerational Contact is increased, then stereotypes will be challenged and eventu- ally become archaisms. This breakdown of stereotypes will eventually extend into health care, as well, leading to better care for an aging population. (Eventually, Gerontology might become a sought after medical career!) Not only will the situation for those already at and past retirement age im- prove, but the younger genera- tions will stop shooting them- selves in the foot...their ”old age” prejudice will turn on themselves and their scorn and artificial hurdles placed in front of ”seniors” will be there for them to resolve. Of course, this kind of change would take many generations to be real- ized in a nation such as ours, but it is a goal that can be worked toward now in many different, personal ways. The way to improve the older generation's health care is to change the way doctors are trained. Medically an an- thropological approach would offer primacy to sickness through recognizing sociocul- tural issues in treatment and healing and incorporating these differing viewpoints into a treatment plan satisfactory to all diverse parties. As with in- creasing intergenerational con- tact, the incorporation of an- thropological medicine is many generations away from its goal, but it_is also not an impossible effort. The fact that there is a toll-free lesbian and gay doctors’ hotline suggests l that the bastion of white patri- archy is already opening up. I l (The GayLesMed phone num- 5 ber: (415)255-4547) A, _When faced with the triple-jeopardy of being fe- male, lesbian and part of an older generation than your doctor, the prospect of finding good health care can seem daunting. In liberal areas, a little effort on the individual’s part can reveal a number of ways around mainstream medicine's usual host of barri- ers such as Women's Medical Centers that include lesbian doctors and lesbian friendly doctors. Also, state monies are given to counties where medi- cal field workers are trying to establish projects to insure medical— attitudes ”for” lesbi- ans. Not all older people who face challenges in obtaining health care, regardless of gen- der or sexual‘ orientation, are fortunate enough to have the . options as the interviewees in this article do. Changes must be made in society and in the medical establishment so as to better meet older individuals’ needs. When these changes are accomplished, all facets of so- ciety will benefit from the in- clusion of currently marginalized people and from decreased negativity associ- ated with a process every hu- man must endure. Refers to O.L.O.C. (Old Lesbians Orga- nizing for Change) see OITM’s May 1998 issue! The Mostly Unbabulous Social Lite 01; Ethan Green [ Slws "HE 7mm ACr$ THiS WAY"’eveI' M0l”NlNC7 AFTer her Doe BiTe5 SoMEONe. H . >-‘THAN l;lAS Aereeét E" To Dogs IT ForAbl_>¢fir While Hel'N\°M$.|.IZa * 8:-BeTH SPEND Two W_eeKS cmpiue on VIEQUES . 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