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.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 37-51 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Psychology and aging |
Volume | 22 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2007 |
Keywords
- Caregiving
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Depression
- Distress
- Evidence-based psychological treatments
- Family caregivers
- Intervention research
- Psychoeducation
- Psychotherapy
- Stress
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Aging
- Geriatrics and Gerontology