Life review therapy using autobiographical retrieval practice for older adults with depressive symptomatology.
The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of life review based on autobiographical retrieval practice for treating depressed older adults. Forty-three adults aged 65-93 with clinically significant depressive symptomatology and no dementia were randomly assigned to treatment or to no treatment. The results indicated significant differences between experimental and control groups after 4 weeks of autobiographical retrieval practice. At posttest, those in the treatment condition showed fewer depressive symptoms, less hopelessness, improved life satisfaction, and retrieval of more specific events. The findings suggest that practice in autobiographical memory for specific events may be among the components of life review that account for its effectiveness and could be a useful tool in psychotherapy with older adults.
Serrano
Juan Pedro
JP
Department of Psychology, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain. juanpedro.serrano@uclm.es
Latorre
Jose Miguel
JM
Gatz
Margaret
M
Montanes
Juan
J
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001325:Autobiographies as Topic; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires