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As we transition into late adulthood or old age, we start to experience more losses and less gains. Our immune system becomes less effective leading into increased risk for diseases such as cancer, infections, cardiovascular problems and other chronic issues. We start to see declines in auditory and visual abilities. Our executive functions start to decline and with that, the ability to retain new information or process information quickly. Some of us may experience cognitive degeneration in the form of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. There will also be loss within our social networks as we retire, experience social limitations due to health concerns or physical separation from our family and communities. We will start to witness our loved ones dying and start to face our own mortality (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

Research indicates that maintaining strong, meaningful relationships enhance our cognitive functions and work as a protective factor against some of the losses mentioned.  At the counseling center, we have put together groups in which like- minded individuals can discover new relationships and develop strong social networks.
Counselors can help you understand some of the keys to successful development through the theoretical approach of assessing selection, optimization and compensation. By narrowing our goals, enhancing our environment and finding appropriate methods that compensate for our losses, we are able to steer the way to a healthier development process. Finally, counselor are available to help you through the process of grief and assist you with coping strategies that focus on loss and restoration.

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*Experiencing love and healthy social relationships.
*Having the ability to receive social support in addition to giving support.
*Work experience, especially if a person feels confident in their abilities at work and progressive in their goals.
*Having personality characteristics that focus on the needs of others, not just needs for the self.
*Feeling as though you are able to express your true self.
* A sense of eudaemonic or psychological well-being as expressed in self-determination theory.
- Satisfaction with autonomy: ability to make decisions for yourself.
-Competence: ability to express talents and skills.
-Relatedness: ability to be cared for and valued by others.
*Having a purpose or meaning in life.
*Well constructed self-realization (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

At the counseling center, we will help you to evaluate you general sense of happiness by looking at the above factors. Through individual and group counseling, we will discuss ways in how to identify shortcomings and generate ideas to improve these factors and create happiness in our lives. We will also look at ways in which to exert primary control, or changing the immediate environment around us in addition to secondary control, or a modification of our expectations.

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Interpersonal relationships and positive generativity are important factors in development throughout all of life's stages. Maintaining healthy relationships, satisfying partnerships and a sense of community are some of the ingredients needed for a healthy social support network. Feelings of desire and accomplishment, in terms of generativity, is when you not only feel creative, productive or giving in life but that you have successfully accomplished these attributes. Since our family relationships and work help establish our identity, feelings of satisfaction are contingent on this balance and whether you are able to feel more positively about the outcomes for both.  If one of these is not fully satisfying, the other may act as a role buffer if there is a much more positive outlook within that frame .  Generative accomplishment is not a matter of financial success or increase in socioeconomic standards.  It is based on how creative and productive we feel in our lives. Agency, or the ability to express oneself creatively and communion, the desire to care for others, must remain in balance (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

At the counseling center, we can explore your satisfaction level in life as they relate to your interpersonal relationships, generativity and whether you feel there is a cohesive balance between agency and communion.  Experienced counselors are available to help you identify ways in which we can increase our satisfaction level and promote a balanced lifestyle.

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Utilizing information acquired from researching traditional marital relationships, we are better equipped to identify the family life cycle or normative pattern that traditional families might take.
The first stage  occurs when the individual leaves home and starts to differentiate themselves from their family of origin.
The second stage involved finding a partner and getting married.
The third stage involves having children.
The fourth stage occurs when these children start to grow in autonomy, and the parent-child relationship changes significantly.
The fifth stage is where children leave the home to become adults on their own and the "empty nest" occurs.
The final stage is where the couple faces old age together and accepts the changes in generational roles (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

At the counseling center, we will help you identify where you might be in the family life cycle process, the emotional processes that occur through these stages and ways in which you can transition with ease.  Some topics that will be proposed include:
1. Looking into the marriage to determine satisfaction level.  Assess ways in improving satisfaction, if necessary.
2. Ensuring that your career choice continues to fulfill your expectations and what could be done to improve this.
3. Assessing your role when dealing with adult children and aging parents.
4. Developing coping strategies when dealing with the loss of loved ones or loss related to physical, cognitive or social impairments.

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History graded changed are attributed to the changes that occur in entire populations based on historical accounts that occur from birth. Non-normative changes are those changes that affect us due to crisis and traumatic events (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

Counselors are available to discuss some of the historic influences in our culture that have affected your development along the way. They are also available to discuss some of the non-normative changes and offer appropriate coping suggestions to help you through this stage in your life.

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The changes in life tasks are reflective of what is important in a particular stage of a persons life. For instance, in young adulthood intimacy is most important or committing to a shared life with someone else. In middle adulthood, establishing generativity, or giving life purpose though child rearing or work performed, becomes a priority. In old age, ego integrity or ensuring that you have developed meaning and dignity in your life, is the task of most importance. Other theorist suggest that deep bonds play a role in which tasks will be evaluated. Production in work that brings personal satisfaction will play a part in the continuation of self-identity. In late- middle adulthood, a person will want to make sure they have made a productive contribution not only to themselves or family, but to the culture in which they live (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

The counseling center offers individual and group sessions that identify these life change trajectories and how these changes have affected you physically, cognitively, and socioemotionally. Group sessions allow for a better understanding of these changes and how others have maintained a positive discourse throughout these changes.

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Physical: Most adults will reach physical peak functioning until around 40 or older. Some physiological systems will start to decline such as skin wrinkling, hair loss, immune system decline, visual and auditory impairments. Women will start to undergo the process of menopause and men's lowered testosterone levels may result in lower muscle mass and bone density. Pain sensitivity may also increase, particularly in the face of stress.
Cognitive: Fluid intelligence or the ability to solve new problems, quickly, will start to decline. However, crystallized intelligence, or the ability to use already known knowledge will remain stable. Episodic memory, or memory of personal experiences, becomes less easily accessed. Semantic memory, or storage of factual information will become more accessible for older adults.
Life-course changes: occur due to shifts in life tasks (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

The counseling center offers exercise and nutritional counseling that will help maintain levels of peak functioning and help slow the decline of some physiological processes associated with aging. Stress reduction classes are also available to help with reduction in inflammation and pain sensitivity. Group workshops are available to help keep you engaged in a social environment, which has been shown to slow down cognitive decline in research studies.

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Healthy development is related to the level of resources a person has at the time and quality of coping mechanisms.  Most personality characteristics appear to be stable throughout one’s life. Some major identity characteristics will experience slight changes earlier in life and remain stable after age 30.
The Big 5- Personality traits:
* Neuroticism – having an unstable reaction to stress.
* Extraversion- outgoing, social personality.
*Agreeableness- warm, kind, eager to help others.
*Conscientiousness- organized, self-controlled.
*Openness to experience- creative, curious, open to new things.
According to multidimensional theorist, all of these factors are contingent on genetic as well as environmental influences (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

If you are curious as to which personality traits best describe you and would like to determine which traits are most influential in your life, the counseling center has experienced counselors that can help. They will help evaluate which traits appear most dominant and how they are currently affecting your quality of life.

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In middle adulthood- it is no longer a priority to focus on biological processes such as mate selection and reproduction.  Now your focus will turn toward more sociocultural development. The loss of biological processes result in the importance of gaining social connections.  Although gains and losses are experienced throughout life, the shift in this dynamic occurs in within this time frame. For example, more gains are noticeable earlier in life with very little loss recognized. However, as we get older, gains will start to decline while loss continues to be more noticeable. As we develop from childhood, we add more characteristics and skills into our lives.  As losses become more apparent, maintaining these gains and properly regulating these losses become an important factor in daily functioning.  Middle adulthood is an important time to balance these processes -  growth, maintenance and regulation – where significant changes start to occur (See graphic below, as cited by Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

At the counseling center:  We can help you identify some of the gains and losses your are currently experiencing and offer ideas that will help maximize growth while coping with loss through proper maintenance and regulation strategies.

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Life span theories offer a great way to describe the changes and continued growth through middle adulthood into late adulthood.  These theories take into account hereditary aspects, environmental influences and how they relate to continued development.  They allow us to organize information for a better understanding of the processes involved and ways to determine successful development along the way (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

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Middle adulthood, occurs somewhere in the age range of 30's through 50’s and is characterized by many changes in personal relationships and self-identity.  Late adulthood, which typically starts somewhere in the late 50's, also continues to see tremendous changes in interpersonal relationships and identity (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

At the Gwynedd Mercy University Counseling Center, we would like to help you to better understand these changes, based on information we have obtained through developmental research.  Please review some of the information provided for a better understanding of these changes in your development.