Geropsychology - Therapy for Older Adults
If you are an older adult, you may be facing new, unique, or long-standing but more pressing challenges. These include changes in roles or employment, marital and/or relationship challenges, relationship challenges with adult children, health problems, and more. Dr. Anna Yam is certified in Gerontology and has worked with older adults and their families extensively for over 15 years. . ​
Here are common areas of focus in psychotherapy with older adults:
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Couples Counseling - therapy for marital struggles and other types of romantic relationships
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Relationships with adult children
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Sleep problems, insomnia
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Coping with health problems
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Employment and role transitions, retirement
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Healthy aging - developing and maintaining healthy habits and routines
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Cognitive aging - promoting optimal cognition, managing cognitive changes
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Caregiving for a spouse or loved one (read more below)
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Are you estranged from you adult children? Perhaps you are wondering why your children are distant, why they don't listen to your advice, why they don't call you enough. You'd love to reconnect with your adult children but don't know how. Therapy can help you heal these important bonds. It's never too late to form strong parent adult-child relationships.
Therapy for Caregivers
A caregiver is any person who helps another with a range of activities like paying bills, attending medical appointments, taking medications properly, buying groceries, preparing meals, getting dressed, and bathing, among others. It can be rewarding to provide care, but it can also be stressful, isolating, and overwhelming. If you are a caregiver, it is likely that your own needs have at times gone by the wayside. You deserve support, as well as a partner in navigating the challenges of caregiving.
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Topics in therapy for caregivers:
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Caregiver burnout
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Anxiety, depression, anger/frustration
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Isolation and loneliness
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Grief​
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Managing cognitive problems in the person you are caring for, including mild cognitive impairment and dementia
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Managing challenging behaviors in the person you are carding for
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Dynamics and relationships with family and other caregivers
Therapy for Grief and Bereavement
Losing a loved one or friend is one of the most stressful experiences of our lives. In addition to sadness, many survivors experience feelings of guilt, anger, loneliness and numbness. We are not meant to go through bereavement and grief on our own. Death and loss is a universal experience and you need and deserve support and community to help you go through it. Grief counseling can help you grieve and process your loss with guidance and support.
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In our sessions, we will tailor the journey of grieving to your unique story — your history, your resources, your culture, and the pace that feels right for you. Whether the loss was expected or sudden, whether you’re navigating complicated grief or simply seeking greater help than what friends and family can provide, my goal is to partner with you in reclaiming meaning, finding moments of peace, and building your resilience for the path ahead.
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As your therapist, I provide steady presence, empathic listening, and clinical guidance — but you remain the expert in your own life. Together, we’ll work on: acknowledging and normalizing your emotional experience (e.g., sorrow, anger, relief, guilt), managing the physical and relational impacts of loss, gradually exploring how your world is shifting, and helping you craft a way of living that honors your past while opening to your future. If you’re ready, I invite you to reach out and take the first step toward healing in a way that’s tailored to you.
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