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Gerontology, the study of aging and older adulthood, is a vast field consisting of many intersecting disciplines, such as medicine, nutrition, public policy, psychology, social work, and professional counseling. As the older adult population rapidly increases, so too will the prevalence of mental health concerns among this population, including risk for suicide. Older adults presently comprise 16.5% of the U.S. population, yet account for 19.3% of all deaths by suicide (Drapeau & McIntosh, 2020). Professional counselors are newly eligible Medicare providers and can close gaps in healthcare access for older adults who rely on Medicare to receive mental health services, which might include suicide risk assessment and intervention. The Gerontological Imagination is an integrative paradigm to understand the process of aging across multiple disciplines. In this manuscript, we use The Gerontological Imagination as a guiding framework to discuss a professional counselor’s role in identifying and responding to suicide among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generation Z has been impacted by various stressors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which have contributed to detrimental health outcomes, including elevated rates of suicide. The majority of current U.S. college students encompass members of Gen Z, who have reported more stress than other generations. College students among other generations have demonstrated low rates of help-seeking behaviors, though these older generations were less racially diverse. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to assess gender and racial differences in help-seeking intentions for personal and emotional problems and suicidal thoughts among a racially diverse sample of 160 college students. Participants with greater thwarted belongingness (a component of suicide desire) were less likely to seek help for personal or emotional problems, with no significant differences across race or gender. These findings suggest college counselors attend to increasing social connections; programming efforts specific to this generation; and ensuring knowledge of life-saving resources across social networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]