Author Archives: Bob Ritzema

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About Bob Ritzema

I am a fourth-generation American of Dutch ancestry and am trained as a clinical psychologist. In 2012, I retired from Methodist University in North Carolina to return to Michigan to help family, and, in 2023, I started again with a move to Milwaukee to be near my children. I maintain a part-time therapy practice. I can be reached at bobritzema@hotmail.com.

On The Ladder of The Generations

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I spend most of my time staying with my mother, who is 89 years old. She functions pretty well in her own house, preparing her own meals, dressing without assistance, and doing her laundry. She doesn’t drive or use a … Continue reading →

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Midlife Complexity to Late Life Simplicity

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote in an earlier post that the main psychological challenge of late adulthood is simplification. In middle adulthood, many of us had more complexity in our lives than we had ever had before. At work we took on more responsibility … Continue reading →

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Loss and Simplification in Later Adulthood

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

In my last post, I introduced the idea that the main psychological task of late life is to mourn our losses. I ended by suggesting that such grieving does not mean that we older adults are constantly in a state … Continue reading →

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What is the Primary Psychological Task of Late Adulthood?

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Psychologists usually view human development as consisting of a series of tasks or issues, each of which must be dealt with in turn. Thus infancy is about learning to trust, adolescence about independence and identity, and early adulthood about intimacy. … Continue reading →

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I Went to a Concert by Myself. So Can You.

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Last month I went to a baroque music concert by myself. I’m not dating or married to anyone, and trying to find someone to go with me seemed too much trouble. The Grand Rapids Symphony did a marvelous job, as … Continue reading →

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The Old Age Style

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

Some time ago I ran across an  article from 1972 on the style characteristic of elderly artists. The author, Kenneth Clark finds in their works several common features, which he identified as follows: “Now let me try to summarise the characteristics of the old-age style as they … Continue reading →

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On Being an Aging Runner

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I recently ran in a 5-kilometer race, a fundraiser for college scholarships. I did pretty well, all things considered, completing the course a little more than a minute faster than the goal I had set. Admittedly, my goal was rather … Continue reading →

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Sex and Dementia

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

What’s entailed in expressing consent to have sex with someone? If the person wanting to have sex with you is your husband, and you don’t object to sex with him, is that enough? If you’re openly affectionate with him, wouldn’t … Continue reading →

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Retirement Leisure vs. Sabbath Rest

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote a few months ago about leisure in retirement, suggesting that one benefit of leisure is to remind us that the value of human life isn’t measured solely by the yardstick of productivity. In this post, I will compare leisure with something else that involves … Continue reading →

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Stress Management in Older Adulthood

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Bob Ritzema

You’re not stress-free, are you? Neither am I. And we won’t rid ourselves of stress, either. If you’re a middle-aged adult working long hours, raising kids, negotiating relationship problems, cooking, cleaning, and trying to keep your environment from falling into … Continue reading →

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