We assume therapy belongs to youth, yet older people may be particularly likely to benefit from psychological support.
Maurizio is 70. He recently began therapy in the hope of better understanding a physical pain he had carried since childhood. He has suffered migraines since the age of seven and wanted to explore what might lie behind them.
Over the years, he had consulted different doctors and sought multiple opinions – therapy was another attempt to trace the origins of the problem. But he continued even after realising he might never find a single cause. “The process itself became something meaningful, a space for introspection that helped me understand my life more clearly,” Mauizio says. (We have omitted the surnames of the therapy clients quoted within this piece to preserve their privacy.)
Antonio, 73, and his wife Gigliola, 68, turned to therapy hoping to save their relationship after years marked by disappointments and unspoken tensions. “After some time, I realised I felt lighter, more open,” Antonio says.
“Looking within ourselves and bringing out what we could never say before, perhaps helped us,” Gigliola adds.
Their stories challenge a common assumption: that therapy is only for the young. And a growing body of evidence suggests that many older people could benefit from the same kind of help.
Leave a Reply