Mutual Storytelling Bridges Gaps

The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, the number of people age 60 or older will rise to 1.4 billion, and a significant portion of this population will experience mental health disorders.

Despite the prevalence of depression, anxiety and substance use disorders among older adults, many do not receive the treatment they need. Meeting older adults’ mental health needs requires the same urgency and attention as physical health.

One of the key challenges in providing mental health care to older adults is the stigma associated with seeking treatment, which can dissuade individuals from accessing mental health services. As a result, there is a critical need for enhanced professional training and interventions that seek to reduce stigmatization and improve the therapeutic relationship and responsiveness of counselors to vulnerable populations.

Recent research from the Department of Counselor Education, College of Education, explores using innovative counseling techniques, such as mutual storytelling (MST), to address the unique needs of older adults by enhancing the adaptability of counselors.

Kelly Emelianchik-Key, Ph.D., associate professor of counselor education, collaborated with doctoral students studying counselor education and supervision, to publish the research with older adults in the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health.

Using MST and adapting it to incorporate counselor self-reflection and broaching components offers a promising approach for bridging the gap between counselors and older adults, she said. Originally used with children and adolescents, MST encourages clients to craft fictional stories that reflect their experiences and emotions. Counselors then analyze these stories to identify adaptive cognitions and emotions. MST can help older adults by reducing resistance or the stigma of counseling and build rapport between the counselor and client.

One component of a successful MST intervention is responsiveness, which refers to a counselor’s lifelong process of engaging in self-awareness, self-reflection and self-evaluation to reflect on the changing needs of their clients. By expanding this proficiency, counselors can establish empathetic and nonhierarchical relationships with older adults, she said. Broaching, the third component of MST, refers to a counselor's ability to effectively address clients' individual differences within the context of their presenting concerns. By integrating broaching and responsiveness with MST, counselors can better understand and address the unique needs of older adults.

“Creative interventions like MST can empower individuals to share their stories and experiences in a meaningful way, while fostering informed and empathetic counseling relationships,” Emelianchik-Key said. “Counseling that emphasizes flexibility and understanding can help reduce stigma, improve treatment retention, and ultimately enhance the mental health and well-being of older adults.”