Mental health: How old is too old for therapy?

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In a telling scene from the recent film, You Hurt My Feelings, a middle-aged man walks into his therapist’s office and remarks on an elderly man exiting the therapist’s office: “If I am in therapy at that age, kill me! The guy’s gonna (sic) drop dead in five seconds. What, he’s gonna (sic) change?" The real question this scene brings to the fore is: how old is too old for therapy? This is particularly relevant as India’s population ages rapidly.

The elderly population (aged 60 and above) is projected to reach a staggering 347 million by 2050—a societal transformation with far-reaching implications. According to the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) India Ageing Report 2023, the proportion of elderly people will double from 10.5% in 2022 to 20.8% in 2050. Despite the growing demand for mental health treatment among older adults, access and utilisation remain strikingly low.

Research highlights several barriers: lack of awareness about mental health services, perceived stigma, and the misconception that certain psychological challenges are just part of “normal" ageing (Livingston & Boyd, 2010; Smyer & Qualls, 1999). These factors contribute to the chronic under-utilisation of mental health care by older adults. Loneliness, for instance, is a pervasive issue among the elderly.

“Among urban elderly, loneliness is a major cause of late-life depression," observes professor Tannistha Samanta, faculty of Sociology at FLAME University. Supporting this view is New Delhi-based IT consultant Sudhakar* (58), who found himself sliding into depression after a tumultuous year marked by a divorce and the loss of his mother. “That year was so tough," he says.