Abstract
Resistances to empathy with older service users are outlined, drawn primarily from Jungian psychology. It is suggested that lack of a helper's personal experience of old age allows disproportionate influence to be played by archetypal intrapsychic processes. These are augmented by helpers perceptions of a negative personal future and a tendency either to ignore the age appropriate projects of older persons or replace them with those appropriate for the helper. Consequences for helper training are briefly explored.

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