Considering Psychodynamic Therapy for Older Adults.

As the neuroscientific bases for conceptualizing and treating psychiatric and psychological conditions have become increasingly emphasized in recent years, application of relatively more traditional theoretical frameworks, such as psychodynamic theory, has somewhat fallen out of favor. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy in both short- and long-term episodes of care has been established in numerous outcome studies and meta-analyses from the last two decades. Specifically, psychodynamic therapy may be particularly well suited for use with older adults (ages 65 years and older) for a number of clinically and logistically indicated reasons. In this exploratory commentary piece, we consider the potential origins of the notion that psychodynamic therapy may not be well suited for use with older adults. We then present evidence in favor of utilizing psychodynamic interventions with older adults. In doing so, we hope to spur critical thought among clinicians who work with older adults and encourage continued research in this area to strengthen the existing evidence base.

Living Up to a Name: Gender Role Behavior Varies With Forename Gender Typicality.

Forenames serve as proxies for gender labels that activate gender stereotypes and gender socialization. Unlike rigid binary gender categories, they differ in the degree to which they are perceived as "masculine" or "feminine." We examined the novel hypothesis that the ability of a forename to signal gender is associated with gender role behavior in women (n = 215) and men (n = 127; M = 19.32, SD = 2.11) as part of a larger study evaluating forenames used in resume research. Compared to individuals endorsing a "gender-strong" forename, those perceiving their forename as relatively "gender-weak" reported less gender-typical childhood social behavior and a weaker expression of gender-linked personality traits. Our findings suggest that forenames strengthen or weaken gender socialization, gender identification, and so contribute to the variable expression of gender role behavior within binary gender groups.