Several types of behavior may be subsumed under the term "nonphysical types of abuse," including psychological neglect and abuse, material or financial abuse, and the violation of personal rights. State laws often refer to the material or financial abuse and the violation of personal rights types as "exploitation." Impaired elderly people are at particular risk for exploitation, and special concerns may arise with regard to the issues of mental competency and informed consent. Numerous methods of detecting nonphysical types of abuse are available, but their lack of specificity makes the methods of detection more vague and ambiguous than those of physical abuse or neglect. Dedicated service providers must take care to note such characteristics as depression in their clients, their clients' behavior, and the behavior of people surrounding their clients. Particular attention should be paid to excessive efforts to influence the behavior of a client. Appropriate interventions in cases of nonphysical abuse are difficult to establish. Criminal or civil law may be invoked in some limited instances of material abuse. Civil action also may apply in some instances of the violation of personal rights; however, generally, informal interventions are more appropriate in nonphysical abuse cases. Although nonphysical types of abuse may be more difficult to identify and remedy, they must be addressed, because they are not only damaging in themselves, but can lead to more life-threatening types of neglect or abuse. 32 references