Old and High ― A Guide to Understanding the Neuroscience and Psychotherapeutic Treatment of Baby-boom Adults Substance Use, Abuse, and Misuse

Despite the stereotype of older adults primarily abusing alcohol, clinical practice insights indicate that the baby-boom generation frequently abuses the same substances as younger adults--including alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines/z-drugs, neurostimulants, cannabis, and tobacco/nicotine. Old and High exposes this hidden epidemic and emphasizes the importance of understanding psychotropic substance abuse as a community health problem. Further, the book identifies the unique cultural values, social values, and risks that baby-boom adults have with respect to substance abuse and misuse to give students and clinical professionals in psychology, social work, gerontology, nursing, and medicine a foundation for working with this population. Readers will, specifically, learn how to integrate current neuroscience findings with contemporary psychotherapy techniques and harm-reductive interventions to help older adults achieve successful recovery from substance abuse problems. Considering that we will likely observe an increase in rates of substance abuse as the baby-boom generation continues to age--and live longer than previous groups--there will be a major need to better understand the unique risk factors and treatment approaches when working with older adults.

Robert Youdin, PhD, MSW, is Visiting Research Collaborator in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. A private practitioner for the past 36 years in Princeton, New Jersey, Dr. Youdin has specialized in the treatments of psychotropic substance abuse, co-occurring mood, and anxiety disorders, and he has a sub-specialty in gerontology. For 20 years, Dr. Youdin was Adjunct Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Social Service at Fordham University. He was also a Project Director for a Gero Innovations Grant for the Master's Advanced Curriculum Project funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and Council on Social Work Education. Dr. Youdin was a participant in the Curriculum Development Institute (Gero-Ed) sponsored by John A. Hartford Foundation and Council on Social Work Education. He is a former Assistant Research Scientist of the Biometrics Unit of the New York State Psychiatric Institute in New York City. In 1977, he was elected as member of Sigma Xi (the Scientific Research Society of North America, Downstate Medical Center Chapter). In addition, he has appeared on numerous public service radio programs discussing various addictions.