Most people struggle to cope with life’s stressors from time-to-time. However, when people are dealing with numerous stressors, or attempting to cope with something as life-altering as a visual impairment, the psychological impact is significant. The World Health Organization defines a mentally healthy person as one who is able to realize his or her abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively, and contribute to the community. People who are struggling with the mental health disorders discussed in this course are not able to function effectively in these ways. There are many common age-related physical and mental health problems that an individual can develop. When a person is attempting to cope with the challenges of aging and then is faced with a physical disability, such as visual impairment, the likelihood of mental health conditions increases.

This course is available for CRC, ACVREP, and NBPCB credit.

Course Objectives:

1. Be aware of common psychological conditions for seniors experiencing vision loss.
2. Be able to identify some common symptoms of each condition.
3. Be equipped to provide more effective training/services for consumers experiencing these conditions.
4. Understand when to refer consumers for mental health services.

The following are recommended screen reader and browser combinations.

Mac: Voiceover with the latest version of Safari,

PC: JAWS or NVDA with Firefox.

Note that currently, course quizzes are not functioning properly for Microsoft screen reader users with Chrome or Edge.

The course shows a start date, but this is simply the date the course was made available to the public. They are self-paced. So, there is not an end date. You can enroll at any time.

This course was developed by the National Research & Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University. We are the only national center funded to conduct research related to employment for people with blindness or low vision, and training and technical assistance for the federal Older Individuals who are Blind program. As a national center of excellence, we offer resources on a variety of topics for service providers, businesses, and persons with vision loss on our websites:

For daily content relevant to the field of blindness and low vision, connect with us on social media: