Dr Olufowoke Mary Oyeyipo
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to examine geriatric counselling and retirement anxiety among near retirement secondary school teachers in Calabar Education Zone, Cross River State, Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of two hundred and forty (240) teachers was used for the study. The sample was selected through stratified and simple random sampling techniques. A questionnaire was the main instrument used for data collection. Cronbach Alpha reliability method was used to determine the reliability estimate of the instrument. The reliability coefficient ranges from 0.82 to 0.91. The questionnaire was administered personally by the researcher with the help of two research assistants. The hypotheses were tested using simple linear regression at .05 level of significance. The results of the findings show that both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Reminiscence Therapy significantly predict and reduce retirement anxiety among near-retirement secondary school teachers in Calabar Education Zone. These results indicate that both therapeutic approaches play meaningful roles in mitigating psychological distress associated with the fear of retirement. It was recommended, among others, that teacher professional development programmes should include mental health literacy training, with retirement readiness counselling embedded in them.