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Burnside's Working with Older Adults: Group Process and Techniques, 4^th Edition (Barbara Height and Faith Gibson, Editors)

National Institute on Aging, Clinical Research Branch, 3001 S. Hanover St., Baltimore, MD 21225.

Burnside's Working With Older Adults: Group Process and Techniques, 4th Edition. Haight B, Gibson F, eds. Boston, Massachusetts: Jones and Bartlett Publishers; 2005. 497 pp. ISBN: 076374770X. $66.95.

THIS book is an essential resource for students and beginning group leaders interested in working with older adults. In the introduction, the authors not only describe the principles and practices of group work, they also summarize for the reader current demographic trends related to older adults and the physiological changes that occur with aging, thereby providing an additional gerontological foundation of knowledge from which one can begin interacting with older adults. This book describes both historical and current methods and principles of group work with older adults, although much of it is also applicable across the age spectrum. Once the underpinnings of group work are covered, the authors quickly proceed with useful guidelines and practical applications that will help new group leaders deal with obstacles that leaders commonly encounter. Topics such as choosing a facility and appropriate members, leading discussions, dealing with difficult persons internal or external to the group, and working with specialized groups are addressed. Examples of specialized groups include people with physical disabilities, dementia, as well as higher functioning older adults. In addition, sections are devoted to important life stages or different settings in which group leaders work, such as retirement or preretirement, end-of-life, adult day care, and assisted living settings, and nursing home settings. As a result, this book introduces the reader to the many experiences that adults might encounter with aging, and it provides important and varied perspectives from the many disciplines that are often necessary to best serve older adults' needs (i.e., the multidisciplinary approach). Because older adults do often benefit from the multidisciplinary approach of managing mental and physical health needs, readers across multiple disciplines, including physical and occupational therapists, nurses, social workers, recreation leaders, and physicians, will find this book instructive.

In summary, the fourth edition of Burnside's Working with Older Adults: Group Process and Techniques remains an excellent resource for beginning group leaders or students who are currently working with or planning to work with older adults in a variety of settings and situations.

Address correspondence to B. Gwen Windham, MD, MHS, National Institute on Aging, Clinical Research Branch, 3001 S. Hanover St., Baltimore, MD 21225. E-mail: windhamgw{at}grc.nia.nih.gov

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