Psychotherapy Aimed at Social Engagement Reduces Depression Associated With Loneliness

A form of psychotherapy aimed at helping older adults feel more connected to other people reduced depression and improved quality of life for those who had reported they felt lonely and/or were a burden to people around them, according to astudy in theJournal of Geriatric Psychiatry.“Social connection is essential for health and quality of life at all ages and may be an especially useful intervention target for promoting mental health in later life,” wrote Kimberly Van Orden, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester, and colleagues.The researchers adapted a manualized form of behavioral psychotherapy called Engage Psychotherapy to specifically target social connection among older adults at risk for suicide. Engage is designed to help patients reengage with the pleasant, physical, and/or social activities they may have stopped doing because of their depression. Participants create “action plans” that involve setting a goal, brainstorming ways to achieve the goal, and selecting specific actions to take before their next session. The form of Engage used in the study is called Social Engage, which includes psychoeducational materials to address the importance of social conne ction and instructions to therapists to focus action plans on social engagement.Participating in the study were 62 adults aged 60 years or older who endorsed feeling lonely and/or feeling like a burden to others in the prior two weeks. Thirty-two individuals were rand...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research