Help me find retirement therapists/counselors
September 2, 2015 12:46 PM   Subscribe

An elderly relative of mine is retiring within the next few years. Help me find a therapist/counselor to help them through this transition.

I'm looking up therapists/counselors/planners/life coaches on their behalf, but most of the retirement counseling services I'm finding via Google seem to be focused exclusively on financial issues and most of the therapists seem to be focused exclusively on emotional support.

While my relative could definitely use some help with the complexities of financial planning in retirement, what they really need is someone to talk to about the life transition, particularly suggestions for things to do to keep themself busy in retirement (volunteering, social activities, etc.).

I'm not even sure what search terms to use. Bonus points if you can help me find people located specifically in or around Indianapolis, though I may expand my search to Chicago if I can't find anyone in Indy. Ordinary therapist price range is fine, nothing exorbitant but no need for sliding scale/discount either.
posted by Ndwright to Work & Money (6 answers total)
 
>most of the therapists seem to be focused exclusively on emotional support.

>what they really need is someone to talk to about the life transition, particularly suggestions for things to do to keep themself busy in retirement (volunteering, social activities, etc.).


I'm not quite seeing how these two things are in conflict, necessarily. Life-transition therapy generally revolves around grieving the lost role(s), and then creating meaning in new roles (which would include building up social supports, volunteering, etc.). Therapists specializing in life transitions should focus on both sides of that.
posted by jaguar at 1:59 PM on September 2, 2015


A search for "retirement coach" yielded this. And a search of Indiana and Illinois on that site shows several individuals in those areas working in this field.

You don't say how old your relative is ("elderly" is a relative term and I'll be personally peeved if this person is anywhere between 50 and 75!), but most people I know approaching retirement can't wait to get started on that phase of life, even if they're somewhat nervous about the financial aspect of it.

You don't say if this relative asked you to find them help or a therapist, but if they didn't, you may want to tread lightly with your suggestion.
posted by cecic at 2:01 PM on September 2, 2015


Response by poster: To clarify: they're a workaholic who really likes their job and it occupies most of their time. If they retired it would be the company making them leave, presumably to be replaced with someone younger and cheaper, hence being anxious about retiring. Because they work so much they also don't have much free time to do an exhaustive search on their own, so they asked me to look on their behalf. Ideally I could line up a few consultations on the same day to help them find someone they like.

Cecic: That site is exactly what I'm looking for, I missed it because I didn't even think to look for the word "coach".
posted by Ndwright at 4:31 PM on September 2, 2015


Working really, really hard for a company has some similarities to being oppressed in a relationship, that is that one may just learn to do as one is told and lose touch with one's authentic interests and preferences.
posted by puddledork at 7:06 PM on September 2, 2015


It sounds like your friend needs a career counselor, or a counseling psychologist who specializes in career issues. They deal with career issues across the life span, of which retirement is one. A career counselor is well equipped to help them deal with the shift in life roles. Here's their national association's website, which contains links to career counselors.
posted by batbat at 8:00 PM on September 2, 2015


Yeah, ok, so that's a major life transition where glossing over the loss in an effort to substitute "shiny new activities!" is a going to be a superficial band-aid. Find a therapist who specializes in life transitions and let your poor relative mourn the loss, even if they don't think they need to.
posted by jaguar at 10:03 PM on September 2, 2015


« Older Sam-E, Ashwagandha, etc: Supplements that help...   |   Dealing with workplace gossip Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.