Recommendations for Treating Depression in Community-Based Older Adults

Interdisciplinary Methods of Treatment of Depression in Older Adults: A Primer for Practitioners

“…In addition, group CT has not yet been yet shown to be efficacious. Steinman et al (2007) found sufficient evidence to support individual CBT as a treatment for depression in older adults, but insufficient evidence for group psychotherapy (which includes CBT), psychodynamic, cognitive, integrative reminisce, and instrumental reminiscence group therapies. Zalaquett and Stens (2006) also noted that, in general, both family and group therapy have not been studied enough to be a best practice for older adults and are less efficacious as individual therapies.…”

“…Individual cognitive therapy (CT) has been validated (Scogin, Welsh, Hanson, Stump, & Coates, 2005;Steinman et al, 2007) and is the most researched of all psychotherapies for depression among older adults (Adamek & Slater, 2008;Zalaquett & Stens, 2006). CT is used interchangeably with behavioral therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) because of the similar theoretical bases (Koder, Brodaty, & Anstry, 1996).…”

Depression indicators in a national sample of older community and care home patients: applying the Quality and Outcomes Framework

“…4 They are recommended in combination for moderate or severe depression for adults with and without chronic physical health problems, 5,6 older adults, 7 and care home residents. 8 Antidepressant drugs are not recommended as a first-line treatment for mild to moderate depression, where psychological therapies are indicated initially.…”

“…5,6 To ensure appropriate antidepressant targeting, depression severity should therefore first be assessed using validated scales. [5][6][7][8] The QOF provides incentives for measurement of depression severity at treatment outset, using scales validated in primary care. 2 The three recommended measures have all been successfully used with older primary care patients: the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9); 9 the depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D); 10 and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II).…”

Social work with older adults

“…The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is a tool commonly used to screen for depression (Rosen & Reuban, 2011). Steinman et al, (2007) state up to 20% of older adult living in the community have some sort of depressive symptoms impacting their quality of life. Depression in older adults is characterized by physical ailments such as weight loss, insomnia, fatigue as well as cognitive disturbances, memory loss, and difficulty concentrating (Corcoran, Brown, Davis, Pineda & Kadolph, 2013).…”