Chirlane McCray, First Lady of New York City and Donna Corrado, Ph.D., Commissioner of the City’s Department for the Aging, paid a visit to Service Program for Older People (SPOP) on March 3 to engage in a wide-ranging conversation about the mental health concerns of older adults. The visit helped launch the First Lady’s campaign to promote public conversation about mental illness and develop new strategies to make treatment systems more inclusive and responsive.

The First Lady and Commissioner Corrado met with board, staff and clients at SPOP’s main office on the Upper West Side of Manhattan to learn about the agency’s mental health services for adults age 55 and older.

“We were pleased that the First Lady showed such sensitivity to the mental health needs of older adults,” said Nancy Harvey, LMSW, Chief Executive Officer of SPOP. “Depression, anxiety and mood disorders should never be considered a ‘normal’ part of growing older,” she explained, adding that SPOP sees many clients who are experiencing age-related mental health symptoms as well as others who are managing life-long disorders. In an older population, she added, mental health issues are often complicated by chronic medical conditions or triggered by bereavement, retirement, social isolation, financial insecurity and even diet.

SPOP’s core program is a mental health clinic which provides over 11,000 professional appointments each year. The clinic staff, comprised of psychiatrists, psychiatric social workers and a psychiatric nurse practitioner, works to “de-stigmatize” mental illness by offering home visits, Spanish language counseling, health education and physical health monitoring. The clinic is Manhattan’s leading provider of long-term in-home geriatric mental health care, and last year 40% of all appointments were conducted in the home or at a partner senior centers. Some 20% of the clinic population also received treatment for substance abuse disorders in addition to their primary mental health diagnosis.

SPOP’s other services include individual and group bereavement support services, offered free of charge and led by trained peer volunteers, information and referral services, and community education and training. SPOP is also home to New York State’s only PROS/Personalized Recovery Oriented Services program exclusively for older adults. PROS is licensed by the NY State Office of Mental Health and serves adults with severe and persistent mental illness.

“As the only agency in Manhattan that is entirely dedicated to geriatric mental health care, SPOP plays an important role in keeping older New Yorkers healthy and independent,” added CEO Nancy Harvey. “We are thrilled to work with the First Lady and Commissioner to explore ways to improve the quality of life of our older neighbors, friends and family members.”