The use of reminiscence therapy for the treatment of depression in rural-dwelling older adults.
This article explores the potential for the use of reminiscence therapy as an effective means of reducing depression among institutionalized, rural-dwelling elders, especially elderly women. Reminiscence therapy is a nurse-initiated intervention that has the advantages of being cost-effective, therapeutic, social, and recreational for the institutionalized older adult. As a communicative psychosocial process, reminiscence therapy has proven to be a valuable intervention for the depressed elderly client (Cully, LaVoie, & Gfeller, 2001; Haight & Hendrix, 1998; Haight, Michel, & Hendrix, 1998, 2000). It has been shown that depressed elders living in rural areas resist treatment from mental health services for a variety of different reasons (Molinari, Boeve, Kunik, & Snow-Turek, 1999; Neese, Abraham, & Buckwalter, 1999). For those elders, reminiscence therapy may prove an extremely beneficial alternative to more traditional treatment modalities in reducing the effects of depression and depressive symptoms.
Jones
Ellen Davis
ED
School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6172, USA. ellen_jones@uncg.edu
Beck-Little
Rebecca
R
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D012424:Rural Population; D014481:United States