The MBTI® Assessment Helps Clients Find the Upside of Older Age
written by agammy
In my continual quest to help coaches/counselors find new ways to use the MBTI in their practice, I picked up Nancy Bost Millner’s Creative Aging this weekend and gave it a read (much to the surprise of some of my friends.) I suppose it could be surprising to see a mid 20’s blogger reading books about aging creatively, but I found this to be a very relevant read for a number of reasons. For one thing, I love reading about creative extensions of Jungian theory, and this book comprehensively discusses the impact that personality type has on how people approach and deal with aging. So, that was interesting.
More importantly, I 
think that Later-in-Life Coaching is a GREAT way to extend your services, and it’s great to know there are resources you can read to help you get a handle on it. When it comes to coaching/counseling I think this still a fairly untapped and under-served market, especially considering U.S. Census Bureau data reveals the number of people over 65 will more than double by 2050. As people continue to live longer, and health care continues to improve, more of these individuals will have the time and energy to explore hobbies and part time jobs, and many will be hungry for new interests and motivations. This is where you come in.
Just to give you an idea of the book’s progression, it begins by looking at the midlife transition, and explores the nature of creative living in later years. It transitions into a discussion of how people find the meaning in their later lives, and how looking through the lense of Jungian psychology can help us develop new understanding about coming to age. It also provides an in-depth look at each type, and shares stories from elderly individuals of each type.
According to the book, some people may feel like they want to explore their secondary or inferior functions as they age, others may feel like they have lived an ‘out-of-preference’ life, and would like help getting back to the basics as they grow older. Some who know nothing of type theory may be reaching a point in their lives where things have slowed down and they have an opportunity to be reflective for the first time. In all these scenarios, you could help people by offering them a way to understand their preferences, and giving them a place to reflect.
Are any of you out there already offering these sorts of services or experienced success offering later-in-life coaching sessions or group seminars? Can you validate or negate that this is a good market to tap? I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.
