Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine the actual work conditions, including the perspective of decision-making ability evaluation, issues in the field, and the need for educational programs for psychologists engaging in clinical geropsychology. A questionnaire survey was conducted from November 2016 to February 2018 by mail or e-mail. An analysis of 88 psychologists who completed the survey revealed that they were more likely to be engaged in assessment (n=86, 97.7%), of which 44.2% (n=38) had experience in evaluating decision-making capacity. Additionally, 92.0% (n=81) of the respondents answered that they were facing work problems. Many of them felt that not only the implementation of the assessment, but also the method and content of feedback of the assessment results, and how to share information and collaborate with other occupations, were serious concerns. Results also showed a high demand for the educational program. In particular, the needs for neuropsychological assessment skills including feedback on results and medical knowledge on psychiatric symptoms or dementia were high. Results suggest that a practical and convenient educational program for psychologists engaging in geropsychology is required in order to improve the quality of the psychological profession and to give back to society.
