Enhanced counseling eases depression among people caring for a loved one with Alzheimer...( upon request. The other half a so-cal...),Health

upon request. The other half, a so-called enhanced treatment group, was given three additional types of counseling: two sessions of individual counseling, four sessions of counseling with their family, and then weekly meetings with a support group of fellow caregivers. A key feature of the enhanced group is that each of its members was served by a single counselor for the duration of the study, to ensure continuity.

After one year, 29.8 percent of caregivers in the enhanced treatment group had symptoms of clinical depression, compared with 45.1 percent of those in the control group. Three years later, caregivers who received enhanced therapy were found to still exhibit fewer symptoms of depression on average than those in the control group. This was true even for caregivers whose spouses had been sent to a nursing home, known to be a highly stressful event for caregivers, or who had died.

Dr. Mittelman emphasizes that the particular value of this study is that it follows the progress of caregivers well beyond their intensive counseling period. "Many of the effects of these therapeutic interventions are not felt immediately," she says. "In fact, the two groups of caregivers began to show significant differences in their depression symptoms only after a year had gone by since they enrolled in the study."

The use of multiple types of coordinated therapy seems to be one of the most important factors in decreasing depression among caregivers, explains Dr. Mittelman, since each form benefits the caregiver in a different way. Another important aspect of the study, she adds, is that the counseling was tailored to the particular coping challenges that each of the caregivers and their families were dealing with. For instance, even when caregivers have supportive family networks, there can still be communication difficulties between caregivers and their adult children that require counseling to resolve.

"Caregivers often ask too much, ask too
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Contact: Jennifer Berman
Jennifer.Berman@med.nyu.edu
212-404-3555
New York University Medical Center and School of Medicine
1-May-2004

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