The social work profession has rapidly increased its awareness and inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity issues in practice discourse in recent years. This increased awareness includes aging issues and extends the profession's commitment to the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) older adults. Notably, social workers now have access to the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging (2016) and its plethora of resources for promoting the healthy aging of LGBTQ older adults. (Note that I use the abbreviation LGBTQ in this article. Some authors and organizations use the shorter version “LGBT,” which I will retain when referring to them.) This practice update offers guidance for practitioners who wish to enhance their abilities to support older LGBTQ clients. Specifically, I propose that the concept of queer aging can be used as motivation for increasing self-awareness and attention to structural issues in direct practice. These advances in practice hold the potential to push the social work profession further in its promotion of social justice for LGBTQ people.

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Mode of access: Internet.