Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Depression and Anxiety in the Elderly

Depression and anxiety are two of the most common psychiatric problems among older adults and frequently co-occur. Geriatric patients with depression and anxiety also present special challenges for physicians. For example, increased medical comorbidity and changes in cognitive status may confound diagnosis. Other cohort characteristics (e.g., fears of stigma regarding mental illness; tendency to attribute psychiatric symptoms to medical causes) may lead to underreporting of psychiatric symptoms. In addition, older adults seek psychiatric care from primary care physicians rather than from mental health specialists. System challenges in the primary care setting (e.g., short appointment times) present additional barriers to assessment of late-life depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety are significant problems among the elderly. Due to complexities in the medical management of elderly patients, researchers and clinicians have sought psychosocial alternatives to pharmacotherapy in order to treat depression and anxiety in the elderly. Cognitive-behavioral therapy in particular has been investigated as a promising treatment. Research conducted to date has established that cognitive-behavioral therapy produces significant improvement in depression and anxiety symptoms among the elderly.