Changes in Decision-Making Capacity in Older Adults: Assessment and Intervention

This particular and unique text expands on a conference held to train mental health professionals about assessments and interventions for decision-making capacity. What has emerged is a book that will benefit mental health professionals and clinicians with limited experience in assessing such capacity. Specifically, the content improves understanding of the complex and multidimensional issues within decision-making capacity; describes how to conduct evaluations of individuals with cognitive impairment; details possible interventions that can help maintain an individual's independence; and describes the intersection these evaluations might have within the legal system. Qualls and Smyer thereby provide readers with a framework for conceptualizing decision-making capacity, organized into 3 sections: the effects of aging on decision-making capacity, the social and legal contexts of capacity decisions, and clinical evaluations and interventions.