A Scarce Resource: Psychiatrists' Perceptions of Referring over 75s for Psychological Therapy

This study sought to understand why referrals for psychological therapies reduce with age within an older person’s mental health service. Individual interviews took place with six psychiatrists and a thematic analysis was conducted. Findings suggest that being over 75 signalled the presence of other factors such as; suitability of alternative interventions, cohort characteristics and doubts over therapeutic efficacy. Referral behaviour did not seem to be driven by prejudice but was influenced by the referrers’ knowledge and bias, service availability and age related complexities. This highlights the risk of inadvertently disadvantaging older people and suggests more psychology provisions are required to meet their needs.