Focus on Senior Citizens

THE THRIVING WHILE AGING PILOT PROGRAM

TEACHING NEUROSCIENCE TO LIVE OUR BEST POSSIBLE LIVES AS WE AGE

The Challenge

Life is change. From birth through adolescence, and throughout our adult lives, we must adapt to change. The magnitude and character of changes confronting us in our senior years can present new and sometimes daunting challenges. But we now know that our brains continue to be capable of growth and change.

Leadership of Westchester County’s Senior Programs and Services asked this question:

“Can the Good Wolf approach help senior citizens become empowered to more successfully confront and manage major challenges facing them as they age?”

The Opportunity

Westchester County, through its Department of Senior Programs and Services under the leadership of Commissioner Mae Carpenter, is a nationally recognized leader in innovative programs and services for senior citizens. In the fall of 2023, Commissioner Carpenter and her staff engaged Good Wolf in a several-month feasibility process. This process led to Good Wolf’s proposal for a Thriving While Aging (TWA) pilot program.

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Good Wolf’s Answer: THE THRIVING WHILE AGING PILOT PROGRAM

In January 2024, Good Wolf was awarded a grant by the Westchester Public Private Partnership for Aging Services to support the TWA pilot program. The TWA program would use Good Wolf’s unique approach. Goals included fostering increased well-being and improved decision-making in groups of senior citizens in Westchester County. 

Good Wolf developed and has now implemented the TWA Program at two Westchester County senior centers: The Hugh Doyle Center in New Rochelle, NY, and the Peter Chema Center in Yonkers, NY. 

Initial results of the TWA program include enthusiastic engagement by seniors and personal reports of thinking about their lives in new and more positive ways, with decreased stress and new-found engagement in life planning and meaningful activities. 

The curriculum for the Doles Community Center program was as follows: 

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Thriving While Aging Class Summaries

Week 1: Your Brain is Your Marvelous Control System

Learn about how your brain influences your perceptions and daily life, and how it keeps you alive. Learn how your brain grows and changes all the time. Learn tools to help you make good decisions and be in control of your own life.

Week 2: Crafting Your Personal Mind Map

Discover how your brain helps you understand the world, and react quickly to threats. Learn what causes stress. Develop techniques to become a critical thinker, prevent destructive behaviors, and foster compassion and altruism.

Week 3: Assumptions and Ten Steps to Healthy Aging

Understand how emotions and your brain’s nonconscious processing impact your thoughts and behaviors. Consider the four types of knowledge. Learn to make healthy decisions, build good habits, and reduce stress for optimal aging.

Week 4: How Our Prefrontal Cortex Can Protect Us from Scams

Uncover secrets of how scams exploit your brain’s shortcuts and emotions. Tap into the power of your brain’s executive functions to recognize and avoid deceptive tactics. Grow confidence in how to protect your life and finances.

Week 5: Financial Mastery: Brain Functions & Planning for Retirement

Unlock your brain’s power for logical thought and planning to master your finances. Explore how understanding and enhancing your critical thinking can lead to smarter, more effective money management post-retirement.

Week 6: Social Insights for Confident Housing Planning

Explore how social behaviors and tribal tendencies can shape your housing decisions. Learn to navigate social relationships while making more informed, beneficial, and confident choices about your housing.

Week 7: Goal Setting and Taking Action!

Use knowledge and understanding gained during the previous weeks to take practical steps toward an important personal goal. Identify one specific goal, plan the steps, and begin to implement actions that can lead you to success.

We want to acknowledge the generous support from the Westchester Public Private Partnership for Aging Services and the collaborative support of the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services, which made the Good Wolf Thriving While Aging pilot program possible. 

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