Aging Committee

This year the Aging Committee co-chairs have been working to re-invigorate the committee by holding more regular meetings and increasing email communication among the committee. Last year this group was invited by the APA Committee on Aging (CONA) to assist with a review and feedback on the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Sexual Minority Persons and were able to provide feedback from the lens of aging. The final approved guidelines now use the term older adult over 50 times. At APA’s 2020 virtual convention, the Aging Committee organized and presented a symposium titled “Cognitive Aging and LGBTQ Older Adults Across the Continuum of Care” that discussed the impact of minority stress on cognition, clinical considerations for conducting assessments with LGBTQ+  older adults, and the experiences of dementia caregiving for LGBTQ+ dyads. We will be presenting another symposium at APA 2021 focused on health disparities among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. A goal for the Aging Committee is to foster increased connection and collaboration with other aging-focused organizations. In this service we will be sharing information about our committee in two other professional newsletters with the hope of both recruitment to our group and improved collaboration with others. We also intend to collaborate with other committees and individuals within Div. 44. Additionally, discussions in committee meetings over the past year have focused on trying to find ways of de-centering whiteness in the area of LGBTQ+ aging and on recruiting a more diverse membership to the committee. Both co-chairs are committed to the divestment of power and welcome those interested in a co-chair position. Furthermore, the committee is actively seeking increased membership of BIPOC colleagues with an interest in LGBTQ+ aging.