We believe that improving the ability of people to manage potentially destabilising and distressing transitions can significantly enhance their wellbeing. One of the challenges is that negative attitudes towards ageing mean that transitions can generate a sense of anxiety, fear and loss. Meanwhile, there is a lack of psychological or emotional support for people experiencing challenging transitions, particularly support which aims to increase resilience (see our initial scoping research report, prepared for us by Guy Robertson).

The last few months have been an interesting and stimulating time as we consult and develop our Transitions in Later Life strand. The consultation to date (including the online engagement blog) has confirmed the need to examine and build on what works in supporting people in the transition of retirement. It has emphasised how therapeutic support and therapeutic techniques can be very valuable in helping to build psychological resilience.

The research underpinning our scoping has focussed on interventions which are preventative and which draw on mindfulness, positive psychology and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to develop resistance. The majority of those identified are therapeutic in nature. Some use both CBT and mindfulness in the same course and positive psychology approaches can draw on both CBT and mindfulness.

We took the opportunity to ask people what they thought about later life transitions at the Age of No Retirement event launch in October. Take a look at this short video to hear the participants’ reflections.

We hope you will take the opportunity to engage with the online forum and we look forward to publishing new blogs and inviting further discussion in the spring.

For further information about this strand of work, please email [email protected]. Please be aware that while we endeavour to respond to queries quickly, we are a small team and may not be able to reply immediately.