On the gerontopsychiatric ward, mental disorders in old age are diagnosed and treated. Age-related illnesses, and especially mental disorders, will play an increasing role in our society in the coming years.

Gerontopsychiatric illnesses can present with varying severity: they range, for example, from mild incipient memory and orientation problems to severe organic brain syndromes, or from mild low mood and dejection to severe depression.

In recent years, forms of treatment have been developed for depressive disorders, but also for memory and orientation problems, that can lead to a noticeable improvement in quality of life even in old age. Treatment at our clinic consists of an individually tailored combination of pharmacological, psychotherapeutic and social-psychiatric measures.

Examples of illnesses

Declining mental capacity

Decline in memory and disturbances of orientation, thinking, judgement, speech and planned action are often regarded as "normal ageing", particularly when these brain function disorders appear in old age. Yet in many cases a treatable illness is the underlying cause – something that is barely known to many of those affected and their relatives. With modern diagnostic methods, the causes of dementia can usually be clarified and, in many cases, remedied.

Depression

Low mood, sadness, hopelessness, sleep disturbances, loss of appetite, dejection, loss of interest, social withdrawal, but also suicidal thoughts are just some examples of the signs of depression in old age. Treatment of the underlying physical causes (e.g. impaired cerebral blood flow) as well as medication acting directly on the brain’s mental function disorders is possible for depression in old age. Early therapy with mood-enhancing and calming medication can be life-saving, for example where there is a risk of suicide. The term "psychotropic drug" (a medication with a positive effect on the mind) is therefore, given the good treatment outcomes, unjustly a loaded term. Alongside this, psychotherapeutic treatment methods are used, with the help of which many patients succeed in mobilising their own abilities to prevent and counter depressive symptoms. If you have any questions, please contact our gerontopsychiatric outpatient clinic: Tel.: 0391-67 13483