F OR TOO MANY YEARS, psychiatrists declined! to treat elderly patients with psychotherapy on the grounds that they were confused, delusional, and forgetful. As a result many geriatric wards were filled with listless, often untidy elderly patients, showing every clinical sign of depression, one of the commonest symptoms of old age. Occasionally an elderly physician would identify with one of his geriatric patients and become depressed himself. There is no simple theory of successful aging. Some people in their seventies and eighties tend to withdraw somewhat from society, but most of them, if their physical health is good, will retain the same attitude toward life they held in their middle years. Thus those who led active, productive lives will be satisfied and content if they can maintain a reasonable amount of their activity and productiveness. Because people differ widely, the problem of