[CEU podcast] Is it safe to prescribe opioids to older adults to manage chronic pain?  Many older adults are prescribed opioids to manage chronic pain. But in the midst of the opioid crisis and risk for addiction, the question arises, "can older adults use opioids safely?" 

In this continuing education (CE) podcast episode  you'll learn: 

• the history of opioid crisis
• the challenges and stigma faced by those living with chronic pain and substance use disorders. 
• the impact of involuntarily withdrawing opioids from patients, 
• new methods for openly discussing pain
• the difference between "physical dependence" and "addiction"
• get an expert answer to the question: "is addiction really a disease?"

Click here to learn more about earning continuing education (CE) credits for this podcast.

About today's guest...
Dr. Sudheer Potru is a triple-board-certified anesthesiologist, interventional pain specialist, and addiction medicine specialist with strong interest in both opioid safety and addiction medicine. He is an assistant professor at Emory and the medical director of the Atlanta VA's complex pain clinic, which specializes in treating veterans who have chronic pain associated with high-dose opioid use or substance abuse problems. He sits on multiple national committees related to pain and substance use disorders and is actively involved with research and advocacy related to these topics. He has given numerous regional and national talks to both anesthesiology and pain societies on the topic of addiction and how best to manage vulnerable patients around the time of surgery and when they have chronic pain issues as well.

Go to the show notes page here

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👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

[CEU Podcast]  There are currently unprecedented levels of stress in the United States. Stress directly impacts mental and physical health, including heart disease.

According to the American Heart Association, 50% of Americans are living with high blood pressure. With the combination of high levels of stress and high percentages of people living with high blood pressure. It is critical that we have tools to help people living with high blood pressure, heart disease, and other cardiovascular concerns manage stress and live a healthier life.

Today, I'm delighted to bring you a 60 minute continuing education episode on biofeedback therapy for cardiovascular health with Dr. Maggie Johnson

Dr. Johnson is a clinical psychologist at the Western North Carolina VA Health Care System where she provides behavioral health interventions to veterans coping with chronic health conditions, chronic pain, depression, PTSD and anxiety disorders. She specializes in Health Psychology and Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She is certified in HeartMath biofeedback and very passionate about mind body interventions.

Click here to see show notes & resources from this episode

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

#086 [CEU Podcast] - Chronic pain impacts more than 1 in 5 adults living in the United States and can have a significant negative impact on all aspects of a person’s life, including ability to work or attend school, finances, social and romantic relationships, and sense of self. 

Research shows that chronic pain is associated with an increase in risk for depression and suicide. Yet, high rates of stigma, bias in health care, and limited access to trained mental health providers  contributes to people living with chronic pain not receiving the care they need. 

This CEU podcast will address the widespread impact of chronic pain on the whole person, with focus on the pain-depression cycle.

After listening to this episode, you'll be able to: 

• Identify 3 psychosocial ways in which quality of life is impacted by chronic pain
• Discuss why it is important to attend to both mental/emotional wellness and physical health when working with people chronic pain
• Explain the bidirectional relationship between chronic pain and depression

Today's guest, Dr. Jennifer Steiner, is a board certified clinical health psychologist, founder of Beyond the Body Health Psychology Services, LLC, Co-Director of Center for Mental Health & Aging's Continuing Education Program, Adjunct Faculty at Emory School of Medicine, Board Member of the Georgia Psychology Association Board of Directors, Co-Chair of the Continuing Education Committee for Georgia Psychological Association, and Member of the Committee on Health Psychology and Integrated Practice. 

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

[CEU Podcast] - The prevalence of delirium is highest among older adults who are medically hospitalized. In fact, 33% of general medical patients who are 70 and older have delirium. 

It’s imperative that mental health professionals have a keen understanding of delirium and how to distinguish it from look-alike conditions. This continuing education course will: 

• provide an overview of delirium and the various forms delirium can take
• discuss cognitive screenings used in medical settings
• illustrate how to distinguish delirium from dementia, depression, and psychosis among medically vulnerable adults

Link to the show notes page here

Get access to the BONUS Video when you subscribe to the CEU podcast 

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

[CEU Podcast] - Service providers, including mental health professionals, may be called upon to support a transgender (“trans”) older adult. Supporting trans older adults has much in common with supporting non-trans older adults. This presentation includes general reminders --- like listen rather than give advice, empower rather than “do”, and be open to learning. It also goes into many of the areas in which trans people differ from their non-trans peers, and advises allies on how they can best support the trans older adult in each arena.

In this CEU podcast episode, you'll discover: 

• 3 ways that professionals and helpers can be an ally to transgender older adults
• What the terms paradox means
• Differences between people who transitioned in their younger years versus people who transitioned in their older years.

Today's guest, Loree Cook-Daniels, has been working on both LGBT and aging issues since 1974. She founded the Transgender Aging Network in 1998, and in 2000 became the Policy and Program Director for FORGE, a 26-year-old national transgender and SOFFA (Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies) and was a founding partner in the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging and remains its primary transgender expert.

Click here to access the show notes of this episode and to get all the resources discussed in this episode. 

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

[CEU Podcast]  - With the majority of people living with chronic pain being older adults, it's critical that there are affordable, accessible, AND effective pain management programs to help older adults manage chronic pain. 

In this episode, Dr. Beth Darnall, Associate Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, and creator of Empowered ReliefTM shares:

• why people with chronic pain may not be getting the holistic care they need. 
• the benefits of a 2 hour skills-based course, compared to traditional models of psychotherapy, like 8-10 sessions of CBT
• how a single-session online pain management class has been applied to older adults for pain and symptom management. 

Link to the show notes of this episode here

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

[CEU Podcast] - Diabetes affects more than 34.1 million people in the U.S. The prevalence of diabetes significantly increasing as we age with 29.2% of older Americans living with diabetes.  If that is not enough, depression is 2 times more likely in people with diabetes than the general population. In this continuing education podcast course, you will learn: 

• The prevalence and impact of co-existing depression and diabetes, 
• Tools for assessing depression in the context of diabetes
• Effective treatment modalities for co-existing depression and diabetes.  

Link to the show notes of this episode here

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

[CEU Podcast] - Ageism, which is bias and discrimination based on age has profoundly harmful effects on our mental and physical health as we age. In this podcast CEU episode,  preeminent ageism researcher, Becca Levy, PhD will: 

• Define the Stereotype Embodiment Theory
• List cultural differences related to age beliefs 
• Discuss how our beliefs about aging impact our physical and mental health as we age
• Apply a model for challenging ageist stereotypes

Link to the show notes of this episode here 

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

The stories of deaf older adults and their families need to be shared and heard.

For the past couple of years, I have been following and sharing the story of MJ Grant and her experience with caring for her mom, Carmen, who is deaf and living with dementia. A couple of months ago, MJ made the painful decision to move Carmen into a Memory Care community and shares the painful experience of moving her mother into a community with no fluent ASL signers.

Watch the 7 min video in which MJ shares the dilemma she faced when making the decision to move her mother into assisted living and the painful experience of witnessing countless inequities deaf people face.


Click here to visit the show notes page for all the resources mentioned in today's episode:

Older Adult / Family? Download the Memory Loss & Mental Health Guide

Professional? Grab the Mental Health Professional’s Guide to Working with Older Adults

Help others find this show by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you listen to the podcast, or here on i-tunes.

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits

Chrissy Thelker was 55 years old when she had her first stroke and was subsequently diagnosed with Vascular Dementia.  In today's interview, Chrissy shares her experience of living with dementia and her journey to finding purpose and hope. 

 With more and more people living with dementia, it's imperative that we gain perspective and understanding of the lived experience of people living with dementia and the importance of advocacy, peer support, and building a purpose-filled life living with dementia.

In this episode, Chrissy Thelker shows us how.

Click here to visit the show notes page for all the resources mentioned in today's episode:

Older Adult / Family? Download the Memory Loss & Mental Health Guide

Professional? Grab the Mental Health Professional’s Guide to Working with Older Adults

Help others find this show by subscribing and leaving a review wherever you listen to the podcast, or here on i-tunes.

Have a topic idea? Send us a text.

👉 Want to Become an Aging Informed Therapist? Join us for our live CE course on 8/21/25 from 12-1:30pm EST. Click here to learn more.

PROFESSIONALS: Grab your free guide to working with older adults here


Attention Social Workers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Aging Life Care Experts... Click here to get Continuing Education Credits