Psychotherapy Improves the Well-Being of Elderly Danish Care Recipients

Historically, the psychotherapeutic treatment of psychological problems in old people has had low priority among both clinical psychologists and researchers. Fortunately, this bleak picture is now changing, and a number of reviews and meta-analyses have documented the effect of psychotherapy with older adults suffering from psychopathology such as anxiety or depression. Yet studies on whether older adults not suffering from a psychiatric disorder benefit from psychotherapy are sparse. The objective of this study is threefold: First, we investigate the effects of individual psychotherapy on subjective well-being and symptoms of depression and anxiety of elderly care recipients. Second, we investigate whether the treatment effects continue 3 months after the final treatment session. Third, we examine whether wellbeing scores improve relatively more than depression and anxiety scores. We found significant positive treatment effects across all measures. Effect sizes were moderate to high. There were no significant differences between posttreatment and follow-up scores, indicating lasting treatment effects. Differences in treatment effect size for our three outcome variables indicated that the WHO-5 scores changed the most, followed by anxiety and depression symptoms. Strengths and weaknesses of the study are discussed, and future directions for research and practice are proposed.