Evidence-based psychological treatments for distress in family caregivers of older adults.
- 1 March 2007
- journal article
- review article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Psychology and Aging
- Vol. 22 (1), 37-51
- https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.22.1.37
Abstract
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.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Institute on Aging (AG 18784; AG 13289)