The role of group counseling with logo-therapeutic approach on the mental health of older women

Ageing is the end point of a developmental process which begins with the birth. It is not necessarily accompanied by diseases and disorders, although some are more prevalent in this period. Reportedly mental health problems, especially anxiety and depression, are seen frequently among older people which need more consideration, both in diagnosis and management. Considering the complexities of drug treatment in aging people, using psychotherapeutic approaches has been recommended. This research aimed to investigate the effects of a group counseling program based on logo-therapy concepts on the elderly women residing in the Kahrizak Nursing Home. A semi- experimental design was used. Eighteen randomly selected elderly women aged more than 60 years old were evaluated by GHQ-28. Matched according to their GHQ scores, they divided in 2 equal groups. Ten weekly therapeutic group sessions implemented. The subjects were evaluated again by the same instrument. The gathered data analyzed using t test. The results showed that logo-therapeutic approach group therapy led to better mental health of the subjects (p=0.005). This effect was more significant in anxiety (p=0.015) and social (p=0.005) aspects of mental health than depression (p=0.86) and somatic (p=0.13) aspects. Group counseling with logo-therapeutic approach may lead to a better mental health of institutionalized elderly women, hence its application is recommended.