Maintenance Psychotherapies for Older Adults: A Scoping Review

Background/Objective: Given the chronicity of depression and anxiety disor-ders in late life, maintenance treatments may have a role in preserving healthy functioning. This study aims to understand the state of the science on mainte-nance psychotherapies for Black, Asian, and Latinx older adults. Design: Scoping review. Methods: A priori protocol was prospectively published. Four databases were searched up to December 1, 2021. Eligible stud-ies were conducted in the United States or Puerto Rico and focused on mainte-nance psychotherapies treating depression, anxiety, or both in adults 60+. Due to the underrepresentation of Black, Asian, and Latinx participants, studies were included irrespective of the participant's racial or ethnic background. Results: A total of 3,623 unique studies were retrieved, and eight studies were included. Two studies represented randomized clinical trials, and six were stud-ies of post hoc analyses. All studies were from the same research team, had simi-lar maintenance treatments, and focused on depression. Studies included racially homogenous samples (94-98% White). The primary outcome was the recurrence of a major depressive episode. Across studies, maintenance psycho-therapy shows promise in preventing the recurrence of depression in some older adults. Conclusion: Expanding the scope of knowledge from achieving optimal functioning to sustaining those changes in older adults is a significant public health challenge given symptom recurrence. The small body of knowledge on maintenance psychotherapies shows a promising direction in maintaining healthy functioning following recovery from depression. However, opportuni-ties remain to expand the evidence of maintenance psychotherapies with a more significant commitment to the inclusion of diverse populations. (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2023; 31:514-524)