Evidence-based psychological treatments for distress in family caregivers of older adults.
This review identifies evidence-based psychological treatments (EBTs) for reducing distress, and improving well-being, of family members caring for an older relative with significant cognitive and/or physical impairment. Three categories of psychologically derived treatments met EBT criteria: psychoeducational programs (N = 14 studies), psychotherapy (N = 3 studies), and multicomponent interventions (N = 2 studies). Specifically, support within the psychoeducational category was found for skill-training programs focused on behavior management, depression management, and anger management and for the progressively lowered threshold model. Within the psychotherapy category, cognitive-behavioral therapy enjoys strong empirical support. Within the multicomponent category, programs using a combination of at least 2 distinct theoretical approaches (e.g., individual counseling and support group attendance) were also found to be effective. Suggestions for future research include the development of more well-integrated multicomponent approaches, greater inclusion of ethnically diverse family caregivers in research protocols, and greater incorporation of new technologies for treatment delivery.
Gallagher-Thompson
Dolores
D
Older Adult and Family Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA 94025, USA. dolorest@stanford.edu
Coon
David W
DW
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003376:Counseling; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy*