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Psychological Treatment for Older Adults and Their Caregivers

A special issue of Journal of Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2077-0383). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2022) | Viewed by 18319

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, School of Medicine, Universidad San Pablo-CEU, CEU Universities, Madrid, Spain
Interests: gerontology; caregiving; emotions; treatments for dementia caregivers; intergenerational relationships between grandparents and grandchildren; relationships between psychology and spirituality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Psychological Treatment for Older Adults and Their Caregivers is one of the most important factors related to gerontology. Aging presents a challenge in providing adequate mental health services to a population with rapidly increasing longevity. Although older adult patients have many of the psychological needs that other age groups have, they also have some specific needs. Older adults have unique mental healthcare needs. Nevertheless, usual training in psychotherapy makes minimal distinctions between middle adulthood and old age of the client in the treatment process. Worse still, these differences are often associated with ageism.

Despite the increased number of older adults, which implies a growing need for psychological interventions, a small proportion of psychologists decide to specialize in working with older clients and their caregivers. Additionally, understanding age differences in psychological treatments is important in order to design treatments to optimize their implementation among older adults. This Special Issue is open to high-quality contributions on the study of mental health interventions for older people, especially those focused on understanding how psychotherapists perceive and experience their therapeutic work with older clients, and also those focused on how older adults respond to the psychological treatment of mental health disorders.

I look forward to receiving your contributions and creating a Special Issue that will provide readers with up-to-date insights into the Psychological Treatment for Older Adults and Their Caregivers from around the world.

Dr. Javier Lopez
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Keywords

  • ageist myths in psychotherapy
  • education of psychological treatments for older adults
  • caregiver interventions
  • older adults and caregivers’ mental health prevalence
  • older adults’ mental health treatment
  • prevention of older adults and caregivers’ mental health
  • risk and protective factors for older adults and caregivers’ mental health

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 214 KiB  
Editorial
More Is Not Always Better: Interventions for Caregivers of Older and Dependent Relatives
by Javier López
J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11(11), 3010; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11113010 - 26 May 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1174
Abstract
The population all around the world is becoming older [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Treatment for Older Adults and Their Caregivers)

Research

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11 pages, 463 KiB  
Article
Effectiveness of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Individual Reminiscence Therapy on Cognition, Mood and Quality of Life in Azorean Older Adults with Neurocognitive Disorders
by Susana I. Justo-Henriques, Enrique Pérez-Sáez, João L. Alves Apóstolo and Janessa O. Carvalho
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(22), 5395; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10225395 - 19 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3660
Abstract
Reminiscence therapy (RT) is a form of cognitive stimulation therapy that incorporates discussion of past activities, events, and experiences to stimulate individual memories; it has had some success in treating persons with neurocognitive disorders. This research aims to evaluate the ability of individual [...] Read more.
Reminiscence therapy (RT) is a form of cognitive stimulation therapy that incorporates discussion of past activities, events, and experiences to stimulate individual memories; it has had some success in treating persons with neurocognitive disorders. This research aims to evaluate the ability of individual RT, using a simple reminiscence format, to improve the overall cognitive function, memory, executive functions, emotional status, and quality of life in older adults with neurocognitive disorders who received social care and support services. A multicenter randomized controlled trial was completed in the Azores archipelago (an independent region of Portugal) using repeated measures (pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up). The intervention group underwent individual RT sessions, twice weekly for 13 weeks, while the control group completed regular activities administered as part of their program. Results did not reveal any significant differences between the intervention and control groups. While results did not reveal significant effects, a number of historical and contextual factors are considered as possible explanations for the lack of effects—namely, data collection occurring during the COVID-19 global pandemic, participant cohort effects, and therapist heterogeneity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Treatment for Older Adults and Their Caregivers)
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18 pages, 857 KiB  
Article
Resilience, Emotional Intelligence, and Occupational Performance in Family Members Who Are the Caretakers of Patients with Dementia in Spain: A Cross-Sectional, Analytical, and Descriptive Study
by María Nieves Gómez-Trinidad, Carlos Alexis Chimpén-López, Laura Rodríguez-Santos, Manuel Alfredo Moral and Juan Rodríguez-Mansilla
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(18), 4262; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10184262 - 20 Sep 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3009
Abstract
Background: The concern in the scientific community for the study of people with dementia and their families is comprehensible, especially the importance of knowing the effects that caring for the patient has on their family dynamic, paying special attention to the main caregiver. [...] Read more.
Background: The concern in the scientific community for the study of people with dementia and their families is comprehensible, especially the importance of knowing the effects that caring for the patient has on their family dynamic, paying special attention to the main caregiver. The objective of this study was to analyze the relationship of resilience and emotional intelligence with functional performance in the main caregivers of people with dementia in Spain according to the phase of the disease. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study was carried out. A total of 144 primary family caregivers of patients with dementia in Spain were included in the study. The following variables were measured: sociodemographic, psychosocial, and occupational, as well as resilience and emotional intelligence. Results: The caregivers obtained a low moderate resilience (mean = 64.01 ± 14.5), an emotional intelligence bordering between moderate and high (mean = 78.48 ± 14.82), and a 61.8% self-care categorized as somewhat and quite a bit. The presence of higher levels of resilience in family caregivers of people with dementia were positively related to the time spent on self-care (r = 0.227; p = 0.033) and leisure (r = 0.262; p = 0.014), especially in the moderate phase of the disease, while in the severe phase, this relationship appeared with productivity (r = 0.355; p = 0.034). The higher levels of emotional intelligence were positively related to a greater time dedicated to self-care (r = 0.233, p = 0.005), as well as the data observed in the moderate and severe phase (r = 0.214; p = 0.046 and r = 0.398; p = 0.016 respectively). Conclusions: The primary caregivers of relatives with dementia who have higher levels of resilience and emotional intelligence spend more time on self-care and leisure activities, especially in the moderate phase of the disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Treatment for Older Adults and Their Caregivers)
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12 pages, 1071 KiB  
Article
Improvement of the Quality of Life in Aging by Stimulating Autobiographical Memory
by Alba Villasán Rueda, Antonio Sánchez Cabaco, Manuel Mejía-Ramírez, Susana I. Justo-Henriques and Janessa O. Carvalho
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(14), 3168; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10143168 - 18 Jul 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4281
Abstract
With notable increases in older adult populations, as well as with the associated cognitive impairments that can accompany aging, there is significant importance in identifying strategies to promote cognitive health. The current study explored the implementation of a positive reminiscence program (REMPOS), a [...] Read more.
With notable increases in older adult populations, as well as with the associated cognitive impairments that can accompany aging, there is significant importance in identifying strategies to promote cognitive health. The current study explored the implementation of a positive reminiscence program (REMPOS), a non-pharmacological cognitive therapy that has been previously structured, defined, and tested in a Spanish sample. We sought to improve the quality of life of institutionalized older adults with healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease by utilizing this protocol in these samples. A randomized design with a pre-post measure was conducted over a three-month period. Two types of interventions were used: the experimental groups received REMPOS, and the control groups underwent their regular daily institutional programming with cognitive stimulation techniques. After the intervention, the three experimental groups showed higher cognitive functioning, decreased depressive symptomatology (except for the MCI group) and higher evocation of specific positive memories (except for the MCI group). This study supports the effectiveness of REMPOS and reminiscence therapy, with regard to both cognitive and mood factors in cognitively impaired older adults. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Treatment for Older Adults and Their Caregivers)
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Review

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17 pages, 461 KiB  
Review
Forgiveness Interventions for Older Adults: A Review
by Javier López, Maria Inés Serrano, Isabel Giménez and Cristina Noriega
J. Clin. Med. 2021, 10(9), 1866; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10091866 - 26 Apr 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5046
Abstract
A meta-analysis of the efficacy of forgiveness interventions in older adults was conducted. International databases (Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science) were searched for studies published from 1990 to 2020 that attempted to promote forgiveness in older adults. Most intervention studies are group [...] Read more.
A meta-analysis of the efficacy of forgiveness interventions in older adults was conducted. International databases (Medline, PsycINFO, Scopus, Web of Science) were searched for studies published from 1990 to 2020 that attempted to promote forgiveness in older adults. Most intervention studies are group treatments targeted towards community-dwelling older adults. Participants in these studies are mainly women. The intervention objectives and contents vary widely and often criteria are not well-defined. Participants that received forgiveness interventions reported significantly higher levels of forgiveness than participants that did not receive treatment. Additionally, forgiveness interventions resulted in more changes in depression, stress and anger than no intervention conditions. Forgiveness treatment also enhances positive states (satisfaction with life, subjective happiness, and psychological wellbeing). The reported effects are moderate. The specific treatment model (e.g., Enright’s, Worthington’s) and format (e.g., group-based interventions and individually delivered programs) do not differentially predict better outcomes. In conclusion, future intervention studies should include more male participants and utilize a broader range of follow-up periods. Caution must be exercised because of the limited number of studies developed to date; researchers must be cautious when generalizing the results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Psychological Treatment for Older Adults and Their Caregivers)
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