Elder abuse has received attention among professionals only recently; consequently, guidelines for identification and intervention strategies for the professional in the clinical setting remain speculative and untested. Because the problem of family violence is multidimensional, no professional can be expected to meet the needs of every member of a violent family without assistance. To achieve and maintain the safety of family members and maximum intervention results requires a multidisciplinary and coordinated effort by professionals. Clinical practice with abusive families requires a non-judgmental approach and the establishment of a trusting, and possibly long-term relationship. In addition to negative attitudes on the part of professionals, a number of factors can impede successful intervention, including problems of identification and age discrimination. Assessment for elder abuse involves both history taking and a physical examination. To do this effectively, the professional must be open, honest, nonjudgmental, supportive, and compassionate. The objective of interventions must be toward prevention, which can be defined in three stages: primary, to strengthen and enhance the individual; secondary prevention, which includes screening, identification, and treatment to decrease severity of impact; and tertiary prevention or rehabilitation. Research on elder abuse must move toward a systematic program to test and develop theories of family violence. (The appendices provide a listing of possible indicators of elder abuse for use in history taking and the physical examination.) (JAC)