The Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy (CBT) on Psychological Symptoms (Depression and Psychological Well-Being) in the Elderly

Elderly is a critical period of human life and awareness of the mental status of the elderly and effective psychological interventions can lead to the attainment of this period's mental health. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral group therapy on psychological symptoms (depression and psychological well-being) in the elderly.

This study was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design with experimental and control group. In a quasi-experimental study, 24 elderly women referred to Yas and Arman Shayan home rehabilitation centers in Tehran in 1396 were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly divided into two equal groups (12 patients each). Were. The intervention group received training in cognitive behavioral group therapy and the control group did not receive any training. The research tools were Elderly depression questionnaires and psychological well-being. Data were analyzed by SPSS-22 software using multivariate analysis of covariance.

The findings showed that CBT improved depression and psychological well-being in older women (P <0.05). This finding meant that the intervention led to an increase in psychological well-being in older women. On the other hand, a look at the values ​​of significance level, chi square and test power showed that the intervention was effective and meaningful in the experimental group and its effectiveness was 0.43%.

According to the findings of the study, CBT can improve hopefulness, lack of meaning, and decrease in elderly women by improving symptoms and negative psychological reactions such as depression, feelings of loss and loneliness. Anxiety of death and improving their attitude towards the future and themselves.