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Mental well-being

At Age Institute we are passionate about promoting mental well-being of older adults. Mental well-being is a valuable asset that can be improved throughout one’s life. It refers to people’s experiences of feeling good, functioning well, and managing effectively with life circumstances and challenges. Resilience, the ability to cope with life’s challenges and maintain a positive outlook, is a crucial part of mental well-being.

Our philosophy is to involve older adults in development projects and collaboratively develop positive aging and empowerment of older adults. In our daily work, we use positive psychology and the PERMA-model as our theoretical framework. For us the solution-focused approach is our practical method of interaction. We aim to recognize existing strengths and resources to enhance empowerment.

We offer knowledge, skills, and practices that we have developed together with older adults:

  • The Age School is a website that offers information on mental well-being and diverse practices for its enhancement. The website encompasses five themes: fundamental aspects of mental well-being, character strengths, resilience, self-compassion, and life skills. Each theme incorporates various interactive tasks such as listening, writing, reflection, and experimentation. The Age School has been developed in collaboration with older adults.
  • The Bridge of Mental Wellbeing. A structured discussion group model consisting of 10 meetings. These meetings cover a wide range of themes including finding meaning in life, exploring personal values, creating empowering narratives, and harnessing the power of a positive approach. Available in Finnish and Swedish.
  • Senior Mind Pack. A valuable resource for mental well-being. It features 52 cards specifically designed to provide a day-to-day perspective on mental well-being in later life. Developed based on scientific and experimental knowledge, the Senior Mind Pack is the result of a collaborative co-creation process. Available in Finnish, Swedish and sample cards in English.
  • Mental well-being for older adults – information, skills and models to professionals. Set of materials includes a guidebook, skill booklet and 30 mental skills cards. The material is aimed at professionals working in elderly care services.

In addition, we offer a wide range of open access materials and guidebooks.

At Age Institute, we believe that promoting mental well-being in the context of aging is essential to building a better and more inclusive society for everyone. By emphasizing the positive aspects of aging and taking a solution-focused approach to gerontological work, we can help older adults lead more fulfilling, meaningful, and resilient lives.

 

We are happy to collaborate in promoting the mental well-being of the elderly.

Please get in touch, and I will provide you with more information.

Sirkkaliisa Heimonen

Head of department

+358 50 550 2312, sirkkaliisa.heimonen@ikainstituutti.fi