Psychiatry Gerontological

Gerontological psychiatry (syn.; gerontOpsia, psilOgerastya) is a branch of clinical psychiatry that studies mental disorders and behavioral disorders in elderly and senile people.

Gerontology is a field of knowledge that studies the phenomena, laws and patterns of aging. The psychiatrist must understand these problems in order to study the consequences of age-related changes on a person's behavior and mental functions.

Older and older people, especially those who suffer from mental illness or health problems, may be particularly vulnerable. Social isolation and cognitive decline often lead to the development of depression, anxiety and other mental health problems. These people require special attention and specialized help to cope with these problems. To help

**Introduction:** Gerontological psychiatry is a branch of psychiatry that studies mental health problems in older people. It is an important field of medicine because the incidence of mental illnesses such as dementia, depression and other diseases increases with age.

**Purpose and objectives of the study:** The purpose of this work is to analyze the current state and prospects for the development of gerontological psychiatry in Russia. Therefore, the work sets the following objectives: - To study the main regulatory legal acts governing public policy and the organization of medical care for people of gerontological age in the field of psychiatry; - Conduct a theoretical analysis of the basic concepts and directions of development of gerontology and psychopathology; - Analyze the current situation in the provision of mental health care and the main causes of death for people over 65 years of age who abuse alcohol and drugs; - Select statistical data to analyze the work of gerontological outpatient medical organizations in St. Petersburg. - Formulate the main conclusions and recommendations for improving the quality of psychiatric care for gerontological patients.

**Material and methods:** As part of the work, the statistical database of the City Psychoneurological Dispensary No. 3 for the period from 2017 to 2020 was analyzed, and regulatory legal documents and monographs of domestic and foreign authors were used on the methodology and principles of gerontopsychopathology.

Structure of the article: 1. Introduction. 2. Basic provisions. 3. Statistical analysis of the work of a medical institution. 4. Clinical examples showing experience in treating elderly patients with mental pathologies. 5. Conclusions and recommendations.