Please join UCLA’s Friends of the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital Board of Advisors for an Open Mind program with Debra Whitman, PhD, author of The Second Fifty – Answers to the 7 Big Question of Midlife and Beyond.
Dr. Whitman is a leading economist and global aging expert, AARP Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer and former staff director for the Senate Special Committee on Aging. In her new page-turning book, Dr. Whitman outlines the challenges and solutions to both personal and policy focused issues to support America’s aging population.
Whether you are approaching 50, into your later years or caring for someone who is, The Second Fifty provides practical steps, grounded in research, to help us all create a better second 50 for ourselves and our loved ones – along with critical policy solutions that any next Administration or Congress would be wise to consider.
Americans over 50 are a boon to, not a drain on, the economy. And while researchers have long known that maintaining social connections is critical to mental health, it is also linked to a stronger immune system, lower blood pressure, and a longer life. These findings and more are featured in The Second Fifty that provides rich insights on longevity, brain health, financial planning, work, housing, the value of relationships and social engagement.
The book explores some of the most pressing concerns Americans have as they age: How long will I live? Will I be healthy? Will I lose my memory? How long will I work? Will I have enough money? The book takes readers on a search for answers at a critical time in our history: by 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be age 65 or older, and by 2050, the U.S. is projected to have nearly 1 million centenarians. And in its final chapter, the book offers a rich menu of policy ideas to help solve one of America’s most pressing needs – supporting its aging population for the sake of everyone’s health, well-being, and the nation’s economy.
With compelling stories from Whitman’s own family and people across the country, interviews with experts, and cutting-edge research, The Second Fifty provides a roadmap for navigating and celebrating the second half of life. Throughout the book, Whitman emphasizes the importance of mindset to living well as we age. For example, people who view aging positively live over 7 years longer than people with the most negative attitudes, and older adults who believe they have a sense of purpose in their lives often live longer.
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Debra Whitman, PhD, is AARP’s Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer and the former staff director for the Senate Special Committee on Aging. She holds a doctorate in economics from Syracuse University and lives in Maryland.
Helen Lavretsky, MD, MS will join Dr. Whitman in discussion. Dr. Lavretsky is a Professor In-Residence in the Department of Psychiatry at the UCLA and a geriatric integrative psychiatrist with federally-funded research program in integrative mental health using mind-body therapies. She is a recipient of the Career Development awards from the NIMH/NIH and the NCCIH/NIH, and other prestigious research awards. Her current research studies include investigations of novel therapeutic options for caregiver stress, mood, and cognitive disorders in older adults, and Long-COVID. She is the Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, and the Fellow of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, and the recipient of the Distinguished Investigator awards for research from the American College of Psychiatrists and the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, and the Jack Weinberg Award for Geriatric Psychiatry from the APA. She is the Director of Research for the UCLA Integrative Medicine Collaborative and the Integrative Psychiatry program. She is an immediate past-President of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, and is one of the leaders of the American Brain Coalition that includes the AARP, American Heart Association, Alzheimer’s Association, American Academy of Neurology, and others. She serves on the Advisory Research Council to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.
Dr. Lavretsky a consultant to major health and government organizations nationally and around the world—including the American Heart Association, AARP, the National Council on Mental Wellbeing, Alzheimer’s Association, British Parliament, the National Institutes of Health, World Psychiatric Association and the UN, and gave a testimony to the US Congress—on the science of brain health, wellbeing and self-regulation, mind-body practices applied to stress reduction strategies, and neuropsychiatric disorders of aging.
All proceeds from The Second Fifty go to support AARP Foundation.