Senior & Geriatric Counseling in Fort Lauderdale
Senior and geriatric counseling at Challenges Conquered Counseling supports older adults in Fort Lauderdale through retirement, loss, caregiving stress, and the isolation that often comes with later life. Sessions are available in our office or by secure telehealth for clients who have trouble traveling.
Why Older Adults Come to Counseling
Later life brings changes that are rarely talked about openly: retiring from a career that shaped your identity, losing a spouse or close friends, adult children moving away, a health diagnosis that changes daily life, or simply feeling less connected than you used to. None of that means something is wrong with you — it means a major life stage deserves the same kind of support people get for any other one. Retirement, relocating, and downsizing are major transitions in their own right, and our page on life transitions counseling in Fort Lauderdale describes how we support people through a big change at any age.
Who We See
- Adults navigating retirement, an empty house, or a loss of daily routine
- Clients grieving a spouse, sibling, or close friend, as described on our grief and loss counseling in Fort Lauderdale page
- Older adults managing a new health diagnosis or chronic condition alongside anxiety or low mood
- Family caregivers who are exhausted, resentful, or isolated from caring for a parent or spouse
- Anyone noticing persistent loneliness, irritability, or withdrawal from activities they used to enjoy
What Sessions Look Like
Your therapist starts by understanding your current life, not just your history — what a typical week looks like now, who you see regularly, and what has changed. From there, sessions focus on practical adjustment: processing grief without rushing it, rebuilding a sense of purpose after retirement, strengthening family communication, and developing coping strategies suited to where you are, not a generic program built for a 25-year-old's problems. We do not diagnose or treat memory or cognitive conditions — if a session raises concerns along those lines, we coordinate with your physician rather than attempting to manage it ourselves.
Support for Family Caregivers
Caring for an aging parent or spouse is its own source of chronic stress, and it is easy for the caregiver's own wellbeing to get pushed aside entirely. We work with caregivers on setting boundaries, managing guilt around needing a break, and finding language to ask family members for more help, alongside the senior's own individual sessions when that fits the family.
Serving Fort Lauderdale and the Surrounding Area
Our office near Cypress Creek Rd is accessible from Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Plantation, and Tamarac. For clients who find travel difficult, every session is also available by secure telehealth from home, so mobility or transportation is never the reason care gets skipped.
Getting Started
Call (954) 600-9403 or use the contact form on this page to schedule a first appointment. We accept many major insurance plans and verify benefits before your first visit. Families supporting a loved one through a difficult transition may also want to look at our couples therapy services if a spouse's own relationship is under strain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this therapy for memory loss or dementia?
No. We are not a memory-care or neuropsychological evaluation practice, and we do not diagnose or treat cognitive conditions like dementia. If memory concerns come up in a session, we will recommend a medical evaluation and can coordinate with your physician, while continuing to support the emotional side of that process.
My parent is resistant to the idea of therapy. What can I do?
This is common. Framing it as "someone to talk to about everything that's changed" rather than "therapy" sometimes helps, and a first session can simply be a conversation with no pressure to commit further. Some families also start with a caregiver's own sessions first, which can shift the dynamic at home.
Do you offer counseling for grief after losing a spouse?
Yes. Grief after losing a spouse, especially after a long marriage, is one of the most common reasons older adults reach out to us, and sessions are paced around your own process rather than a fixed timeline for "moving on."
Can sessions happen at home or does my parent need to travel?
Secure telehealth sessions are available from home for clients who find travel difficult, using the same therapist and the same plan as in-person visits at our Fort Lauderdale office, so a mobility issue or lack of transportation never has to be the reason care gets skipped or delayed.
What if the real problem is caregiver burnout, not the older adult?
That is a valid and common reason to reach out on its own. We work directly with caregivers on exhaustion, guilt, and boundary-setting, separately from or alongside the care recipient's own sessions, because an exhausted caregiver usually can't sustain good care without support for themselves too. Caregivers whose exhaustion has become the main problem can also read about burnout counseling in Fort Lauderdale, which looks at what wears people down and what sessions can change.