About Us
Sage and Secure is a psychological consulting company offering an array of services to protect, empower, and restore older adults' psychological health and sense of financial security in an age of unparalleled vulnerability to fraud.
Why is this important?
Elder fraud has been labeled the crime of the 21st century. The United States loses an estimated $28 billion annually to elder financial fraud. More than 5 million older Americans are affected each year. Sage and Secure is a psychological consulting practice dedicated to protecting and supporting older adults and their families in the fight against elder fraud.
Why psychology?
Many industries, including law enforcement, government agencies, and financial institutions, have joined the fight, but none effectively address the psychological impact of fraud. Beyond financial devastation, victims frequently suffer profound psychological trauma, including PTSD, depression, shame, and social withdrawal. There are also complex psychological factors that lead victims to hide their experiences of fraud. Conversely, fraud perpetrators make use of principles of social psychology to increase compliance. Understanding these psychological factors is key to prevention and recovery.
What's
in a name?
Many equate scam vulnerability with naivete or weakness, and older adults are the primary targets for many scams. The association between aging and scam vulnerability undermines the association between aging and wisdom, a link that many older adults view as empowering. Wisdom earned through life experiences confers resilience and intergenerational value; older adults often deeply appreciate the opportunity to pass down knowledge to younger generations. This is threatened by elder fraud. Sage and Secure aims to preserve an older adult’s identity as the sage member of the family, in addition to ensuring their financial and psychological security.
Who
are we?
Meet the Founder:
Melissa Tanner, Ph.D
Dr. Melissa Tanner is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in research, assessment, and treatment of older adults. After earning degrees in psychology from Harvard University (2003) and American University (2011), Dr. Tanner began a career focusing on treatment of older adults in nursing home, assisted living, and independent living facilities. Her work entails a combination of psychotherapy, behavior management consultation, and decisional capacity evaluations. In addition to clinical work, she conducts and publishes research on cognitive assessment and cognitive interventions. She was a co-developer of a practical judgment scale used widely in the evaluation of decisional capacity. Over the past 5 years, Dr. Tanner has been struck by the staggering number of patients impacted by fraud. Realizing the psychological impact, unique vulnerabilities, and complex social psychological principles weaponized by fraudsters, Dr. Tanner was inspired to create Sage and Secure.