Extract
[...] 2.1 What is a person said to be 'elderly'? When one asks the French, they estimate that today one is 'old' from 69 years old. At least this is the figure that emerges when one takes the arithmetic mean of the responses given in an IFOP survey titled the French and the art of aging well. However, the organization notes that the given age is dependent on the age of the respondent: the more we advance in age, and the more the line seems to advance with us. [...]
[...] The problem of loneliness is not given a direct response, despite the patients' requests. Mrs. K reports that have some who ask me for companions, for example, companions, we are going beyond the framework, uh, it's really someone who would come, as the name suggests, to keep them company, uh, it's complicated because APA is not made for that, between quotation marks, it pains me because people just ask for that, in fact, to have someone to talk to, to discuss". [...]
[...] In reality, we can only note that the means put in place to address these issues seem disproportionately low compared to the stakes. If we can observe some positive evolutions, we must not forget that we are in a context of aging of the population, and therefore in a context of strong growth of the needs related to the elderly. The social worker in a hospital setting therefore finds herself in a delicate situation, having to deal with patients she is discovering, and for whom it is sometimes necessary to act urgently, having to deal with situations that are sometimes already complicated and the imposed agenda of the medical staff who may decide on a discharge suddenly. [...]
[...] Make them less frequent or simply less strong. The loneliness of the elderly is a current problem, often discussed, but rarely addressed in a concrete way by public policies. The social service assistant is often confronted with this loneliness, which weakens individuals. The exchanges with the various professionals have allowed me to see to what extent. To this is added a situation of vulnerability generated by their hospitalization. Whether it is serious or not: it implies a sudden change of environment. [...]
[...] The psychologist Carl Rogers defines the helping relationship as follows: situation in which one of the participants seeks to promote, for one or for the other, or for both, a greater appreciation, a greater expression, and a more functional use of the individual's internal latent resources' (1979). For the author, the main difference that exists between working helping relationships and those that do not work lies at the level of the attitudes of the helper, and the perception that the helpee has of them (p. 53). The relative additional vulnerability in which the hospitalized patient finds himself reinforces the importance of establishing such a relationship. So does loneliness. Vulnerability can lead to closing up. [...]
