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15 - Retirement Transition as a Preventive Intervention Target

from Part Four - Across the Lifespan: Adults and Families

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

By
Robert K. Conyne
Edited by
Sally M. Hage
Sally M. Hage
Affiliation:
Springfield College
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Summary

Retirement is a life situation embracing 14 percent of the US population. Transitioning into and through it is a significant life challenge that does not always go well; sadly, for many, it can represent a “slough of despond,” a pathway that can spiral into depression. Retirement transition represents an inflection point where informed mental health practitioners can apply prevention competencies to help prospective retirees anticipate and prepare for success as well as those harness their resources in the early phases of retirement to avoid pitfalls and promote positive steps. Attention to financial and healthcare planning is important. But so is addressing a range of psychosocial considerations that typically lay fallow but are central to both a satisfying and meaningful retirement and the armamentarium of counseling psychologists and other helping professionals. This chapter details the application of evidence-based knowledge to concepts of transition and adjustment in retirement, phases of retirement (and where best to intervene), and how to holistically plan for prevention. Suggestions for social justice and future research in retirement transition conclude the chapter.

Keywords

retirementretirement transitionretirement adjustmentretirement phases“slough of despond,” preventionperson-centered preventionsystem-centered preventionprevention planning in retirementCharting Your Personal Future
Type
Chapter
Information
An Ounce of Prevention
Evidence-Based Prevention for Counseling and Psychology
 , pp. 313 - 334
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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