Abstracts Am J Geriatr Psychiatry Supplement, Fall 1999 13 admission number (i.e., each man and woman had initially been admitted to treatment at very nearly the same time). All of these patients had received very similar treatment. Each had an extensive, well-documented chart. Each had a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia assigned after a SCID interview. They and their case managers were reinter- viewed in 1995 for a “follow back” tracking of their illness history and have been followed forward since 1995 by a research assistant blind to the purpose of the inquiry. Each decade of illness has been evaluated with respect to re- lapses, employment status, social network density, and global clinical assessment by the case manager. Results: A majority of the men showed overall improvement in the third decade. A majority of the women showed the op- posite trajectory. The downturn for the women more closely followed upon the loss of social supports than upon the onset of menopause. Conclusions: The results suggest a complex interaction between hormones and responsivity to loss as a possible explanation for the incidence pattern, the symptom manifestations, and the life course of schizo- phrenia in women and men. RECOGNIZING ELDER VICTIMS OF PSYCHOLOGI- CAL AND FINANCIAL ABUSE. Director and Pre- senter: Michael J. Tueth, M.D. T his presentation consists of a literature review and practical experience as a geriatric clinician and assis- tant to the State Attorney. The main purpose of the pre- sentation is to inform the audience of the hidden types of elder abuse. Areas that will be emphasized include history, definitions, epidemiological data, and clinical features, as well as reporting and legal aspects. Psychological abuse of older adults is a very prevalent but often neglected geri- atric topic. Commonly employed psychological tactics in- clude intimidation, threats, insults, and deception in order to establish power and control over an impaired elderly person. The most egregious form of financial abuse in- volves predatory exploitation of impaired elders by socio- pathic individuals who are often caregivers. Psychological abuse is always employed in these systematically planned and perpetuated crimes on impaired senior citizens. The method of operation of this select type of abuser, the so- ciopathic predator, consists of identifying the victim, es- tablishing trust and confidence, isolating him, securing ac- cess to his funds and material possessions, and applying psychological abuse until assets are transferred. Elderly vic- tims are often financially and emotionally devastated and rarely report the crime due to shame and guilt. Community surveys report the prevalence of financial abuse to be 1%– 2% of citizens  65. Risk factors for victims and abusers will be discussed and state statutes and appropriate inter- action of the geriatric psychiatrist with legal authorities will be provided. The major conclusions reached are:1) financial abuse of older adults accounts for as much as 50% of elder abuse cases in the United States, 2) abusers are often sociopathic individuals and are often caregivers, 3) there are recognized signs for identifying financial abuse of older adults, and 4) the geriatric psychiatrist has a re- sponsibility to identify victims and the expertise to assist with the investigation. Approximately 30 minutes will be designated for audience participation. This involvement will consist of questions and answers as well as clinical vignettes discussions. LEGISLATIVE/GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY WORK- SHOP. Joel Streim, M.D.; Betsy Beckwith, M.P.A. T his interactive program provides attendees with the advocacy skills necessary to impact policy on issues related to the mental health of older adults. Faculty will discuss AAGP’s policymaking process and current position statements. Relevant and timely topics will be presented and information on who at the policymaking table needs to hear about such topics will be shared. Materials pro- vided will include issue briefs, current lists of Members of Congress, relevant federal agencies and like-minded asso- ciations. INTENSIVE SHORT-TERM DYNAMIC PSYCHO- THERAPY IN THE ELDERLY. Chair/Moderator: Al- lan A. Anderson, M.D.; Speaker: Stephen E. Slat- kin, M.D. T he purpose of this medical update is to inform partic- ipants about the usefulness of an intensive model of psychodynamic psychotherapy that can be applied to a select population of geriatric outpatients over a brief time interval. After an introduction about the metapsychology and techniques of Davanloo’s method of Intensive Short- Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) by Dr. Anderson, Dr. Slatkin will provide excerpts of videotape of an actual patient in whom the technique was utilized. A summary of the therapy will follow with ample time for questions from the audience. This session demonstrates how a brief intensive psychotherapy can be applied with success to elderly patients who present to outpatient psychiatric treatment. RECENT ADVANCES IN THE TREATMENT OF GE- RIATRIC DEPRESSION. Chair: Benoit H. Mulsant, M.D.; Bruce G. Pollock, M.D., Ph.D.; Steven P. Roose, M.D.; Harold A. Sackeim, Ph.D.; Carl Salz- man, M.D. W hen left untreated geriatric depression has a poor outcome with a high risk of mortality due to co- morbid medical illness and suicide. Conversely, successful