Physical & Occupational Therapy in Geriatrics, 32(1):1–9, 2014 C  2014 by Informa Healthcare USA, Inc. Available online at http://informahealthcare.com/potg DOI: 10.3109/02703181.2013.862331 ARTICLE Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Older Adults in All Practice Settings Tracy Chippendale Department of Occupational Therapy, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York,New York, USA ABSTRACT. Integration of mental health services in occupational therapy practice with older adults, meaning evaluation and intervention for mental health concurrent with rehabilitation for physical disabilities, is critical to providing quality care. This ap- proach has been suggested in the context of primary care, but should be carried out across practice settings. Although mental health conditions have detrimental effects on the well-being of elders, seniors do not commonly seek out mental health services. For elders with late life and mild depressive symptoms, medications have only modest ef- fects creating a strong need for nonpharmacological interventions. Although there are therapists addressing mental health in conjunction with treatment for physical disabil- ities, this is not the norm. In this issue/opinion paper, I argue for better integration of physical and mental health services in occupational therapy practice with older adults and in the education of occupational therapy practitioners. KEYWORDS. Geriatrics, mental health, occupational therapy practice The purpose of this paper is to present an argument for better integration of men- tal health assessment and treatment in occupational therapy practice with older adults and to highlight suggestions to facilitate this change. Older adults in particu- lar warrant attention to their mental health needs due to the unique challenges they face including: response rates to pharmacological interventions, low rates of seeking mental health services, and high rates of suicide as compared to other population groups (National Institute of Mental Health, 2007; Nelson & Devanand, 2011; Scott et al., 2010). There are a number of contextual factors that affect the integration of mental health services that must continue to be addressed. These include, but are not limited to social structures within healthcare settings, stigma of mental illness, and policy issues (Nanoff, 2012; Trace & Howell, 1991). Noteworthy is that advo- cacy and policy changes to promote occupational therapy in mental health have been highlighted elsewhere in the literature and include the need for occupational Address correspondence to: Tracy Chippendale, Department of Occupational Therapy, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, New York University, New York, New York, USA (E-mail: tlc223@nyu.edu). (Received 17 April 2013; accepted 31 October 2013) 1