This evaluation looks at group-based courses that provide psychological and emotional support for later life transitions.
Transitions in later life, for instance retiring from paid work, changing career, ending or starting a relationship, can have a major impact on people’s lives and their wellbeing. Recognising a gap in preventative support for transitions such as these, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (CGF; UK Branch) has funded a number of projects that provide group-based psychological and emotional support as part of its Transitions in Later Life (TiLL) programme.
CGF and the Centre for Ageing Better partnered on the evaluation of two of these courses — Working Longer and Living Life to the Full, a two-day course run by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) and Changing Gears, a three-day course run by Age & Opportunity in Dublin, Ireland.
The aim of the evaluation was to find out what impact the courses had on individual attributes that would help people be better prepared for later life transitions; what changes people make as a result of the courses; and what practice, resources or processes in the organisations are important in ensuring their implementation and efficacy.
