This year’s meeting theme will be “Aging through a New Lens: A Focus on Emergent Strengths, Resilience and Diversity”. Aging is typically defined by accrued limitations and pathology, but it can equally be defined by emergent strengths such as wisdom, resilience and creativity. This more positive take on aging is advanced by the diversity of experience, contributions and peoplehood of aging individuals.
In all circumstances, particularly amidst the mental health conditions that geriatric psychiatrists and other geriatric mental health clinicians see, the strengths of aging emerge as key elements of therapy and well-being. Gene Cohen described this positive process as “creative aging,” and stressed that it came not in spite of aging, but because of it. The 2023 annual meeting of the AAGP will provide an informative, innovative, and inspirational forum to advance this critical message about aging.