Ageism is one of the most socially accepted yet least examined forms of discrimination, with significant impacts on mental health, identity, and help-seeking across the lifespan. This one-hour practical session explores how age-based stereotypes, assumptions, and internalised beliefs shape clients’ experiences and therapeutic work, drawing on evidence highlighted by the World Health Organization. Through reflection, discussion, and applied examples, counsellors will examine their own assumptions about age and learn how to recognise, challenge, and work ethically with ageism in clinical practice.
By the end of this one-hour session, participants will be able to:
Define ageism and recognise its forms, including overt, subtle, and internalised biases
Describe the psychological, social, and clinical impacts of ageism across different stages of life
Reflect on their own attitudes, assumptions, and potential biases related to age
Identify ways ageism can appear in counselling practice, assessment, and therapeutic relationships
Apply strategies to challenge age-based stereotypes and foster age-inclusive, respectful, and empowering interventions for clients of all ages
Learning Objective Participants Can Expect From This Event
Identify ageism in therapeutic contexts.
Apply strategies to mitigate age-based bias in practice.
Differentiate between age-related stereotypes and individual client needs.
Who is This Workshop Appropriate For?
Counsellors, therapists and trainees working with people over fifty.
Anyone over fifty having to deal with ageism .