title: Psychoeducation to increase psychotherapy entry for older African Americans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Older African Americans have low rates of mental health service use, particularly for outpatient treatment. This pilot study examined the impact of a brief psychoeducational intervention on treatment entry and attendance for older African American medical patients referred for psychotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Before their first appointment, 32 participants attended a 15-minute individual psychoeducation session about psychotherapy that was specifically tailored for older African Americans. The rates of treatment entry and number of sessions attended over 3 months were compared between psychoeducation participants and a historical-comparison group of 37 African Americans referred for psychotherapy the previous year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The proportion of patients starting therapy was equivalent in both groups (about 75%). However, psychoeducation participants attended significantly more sessions than the comparison group in the 3-month period. In 3-month follow-up interviews, participants reported favorable impressions of the psychoeducation experience.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This brief intervention was acceptable to older African Americans and may be a promising strategy to promote outpatient treatment in this underserved population.
authors: UCSF Dept. of Psychiatry, Box 0852-TRCR, San Francisco, CA 94143-0852, USA. alvid@itsa.ucsf.edu
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Alvidrez
authors: Patricia A
authors: PA
authors: Areán
authors: Anita L
authors: AL
authors: Stewart
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000208:ethnology / Q000628:therapy*; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*