Rossmoor Counseling ServicesLocated in Gateway Clubhouse

Meet The Rossmoor Counseling Team

3 Full-time Licensed Clinical Staff

1 Full-time Administrative Staff

Penny Reed, LCSW Supervisor of Rossmoor Counseling Services

Penny Reed is a licensed clinical social worker with expertise in geriatrics, mental health concerns, and the impact of chronic disease on an individual and their loved ones.

Jasmine Hajyan, LCSW Jasmine is a licensed clinical social worker and joined

our team in 2016. She has been a Social Worker for over 10 years with a background in Hospice care.

Jill Meyers, LMFT Jill Meyers is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who

joined Rossmoor Counseling in July of 2018. Jill’s clinical experience includes work in hospice, bereavement counseling, and community mental health.

Florence Clifton

Florence Clifton recently joined Rossmoor Counseling Services as the Administrative Assistant. A Business and Economics major, she received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of the Philippines in 1995.

Mission StatementThe mission of Rossmoor Counseling Services is to assist Rossmoor residents to achieve life satisfaction and maintain independence.

Counseling Services are:

Confidential

Voluntary

No fees

Clinical Services

Brief Individual Therapy

Brief Couples or Family Therapy

Therapeutic services are solution-focused and time-limited.

What to expect when scheduling a session.

When contacting the Counseling Office, you will likely reach Flo.

Flo will assign a clinician to you. You will be transferred to that clinician to schedule an appointment.

Most appointments are set within a week of the first call.

Sessions last about 50 minutes.

Clinician helps client to tell their story and establish goals for therapy.

Follow-up appointment is made if necessary.

Some of the issues Counseling Services

assists with

LonelinessAdjustment/

Transitionissues

Long-termplanning

Caregiver Stress Bereavement Financial

Problems

Coping with Medical

Problems

Safety Issues/Health

Hazard

Problems with Neighbors

Anxiety Depression Relationship Issues

Suicidal thoughts

Alcohol and drug issues

Co-dependency

Rossmoor Counseling facilitates several support groups:

Autobiography Group

Bereavement Support

Cultivating Friendship

Transitions Support

Caregiver Support

SixSix-week group

A group to help motivate residents to start the process of writing their memoirs. Writing topics and writing guides are provided and participants are encouraged to share their writings with the group.

Autobiography Group

photo

Six-week group

This group helps residents who are struggling after the loss of a loved one. The focus is on the idea that one is forever changed by their loss and getting over it is a myth. Participants access encouragement from the facilitator and each other to begin thinking about what their life may look like in the future.

Bereavement Support Group

photo Six-week group

This group is designed to help residents establish a core group of friends and contacts. Some of the topics discussed are learning to love yourself, taking risks, and creating healthy boundaries.

Cultivating Friendship Group

photo Six-week group

This group is for single women new to Rossmoor. Moving to Rossmoor as a single, divorced, or widowed woman is a unique experience that creates unexpected hardships. The focus is to establish connection among the women in the group based on shared experience and struggle.

Transitions Support Group

photo On-going, drop-in group

This group is for residents caregiving for a loved one suffering from dementia. The facilitator provides education about dementia and encourages participants to share their experiences and lend support to one another.

Caregiver Support Group

Peer Led Support Groups

Alcoholics Anonymous

Overeaters Anonymous

Peripheral Neuropathy Support Group

Al-Anon Support Group

Prostate Cancer Support Group

Hearing Loss Support Group

Low Vision Support Group

Information and Referral Services

Our clinicians are well-versed in resources available to residents in Contra Costa County.

Part of every assessment is determining what community resources a resident could access to increase support and independence.

Resources maintained in Counseling Services

Some of the agencies we work with:

Adult Protective Services

Alzheimer’s Association

Advisory Counsel on

Aging

Contra Costa County HICAP

Diablo Valley Foundation

In-Home Care Agencies

Jewish Family & Community

Services

John Muir Senior Services

Meals on Wheels and

Senior Outreach Services

Rossmoor Fund Senior Legal Services

UC Davis Alzheimer’s

Center

• Rossmoor Fund Grant Applications

• Respite Care Program

• Safeway Gift Cards

• Optimum Wellness Lecture Series

Rossmoor Fund and Counseling Services Programs

Counseling Clinicians are trained in basic mediation. Rossmoor counseling provides mediation services to residents of Rossmoor often at the bequest of mutual directors.

Mediation Services

How many people do our services reach?

Neighbor Concerns and

support to Mutual Directors

Residents can contact the Counseling Office when they are concerned with and/or frustrated with their neighbor.

Our department works with the Mutual directors, residents, families, and community resources to help resolve the issue.

Support to Golden Rain

Foundation Staff

Golden Rain staff know they can contact our office when they have a concern about a resident.

Our department provides training on coping with challenging people .

Home Visits

Therapy in the home

Long-term planning with families

Drop-in visits for at-risk residents

Family Consultationand Care Planning

Our staff works with residents and families to help seniors age safely in place or move to a higher level of care.

Long-term care planning tools

POLST Form The 5 wishesAdvanced health care

directive

Emergency medical

information forms

Rossmoor Emergency

Contact Sheets

Survivor’s 1st

yearAnswer Book for

passwords

Medic alert ID bracelets order

form

Hospice vs Palliative info

sheet

In-home care agencies

Placement agencies

Special Events

Optimum Wellness Lecture

Series

1. Maintaining Quality of Life Throughout our Medical Journey

2. Hospice vs. Palliative Care When Caring for Someone with Dementia

3. Healthy Sleep & Aging: Updates and Tips to Improve Sleep

4. Tech-wise Seniors: Gadgets to Help You Age in Place

5. Creating Healthy Boundaries with Difficult People

6. Emotional and Legal Protections for the Family Caregiver

7. Using Speech & Physical Therapy to Stay Independent at Home

2020 Optimum Wellness Lecture Series Topics

300 to 400 attendees

35 community vendors

Cooking demos

Health assessments

Raffle prizes

Exercise demonstrations

Breakfast and lunch provided

Fall Prevention Week Safe ways to fall and get up

Balance and gait

Proper usage of canes

Technology to reduce falls

Parkinson’s interventions

Osteoporosis and Falls

Foot Care

Emergency Response Systems

Fitness Center Fall prevention classes

The Men’s Conference Started in 2014 by Penny Reed

Focus on community and friendship.

Creation of 11 Independent Men’s groups in Rossmoor.

Creation of Men of Rossmoor Club that meets every Thursday.

The Women’s ConferenceRossmoor Counseling has been coordinating the Women’s Conference since 1999.

The Women’s Committee is integral in finding our speaker each year.

Expressions of Gratitude

Therapeutic Sessions for 2020Sessions done by phone or Zoom starting March 17,2020