“People with low-level depressive symptoms, who perceive that they have poor quality social support from other people, and with a past history of depression, were at particularly high risk to develop new major depression” is the conclusion of a comprehensive study published today in Science Magazine. See the full article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091217115828.htm As the authors say, this is good news because quality of care is something that we can change and improve. It is also good news as it shows that having psychological interventions are very effective for treating depression.
In many ways, we should not need this sort of study to confirm what so many of us in the field of gero-psychology take for granted. But, there is still a lot of work to do in convincing others that depression in seniors is a treatable illness and not part of “normal aging”!
I certainly found that being able to take psychotherapy to elders in their homes was key to improving many elder’s quality of life which is one of the reasons that this is included in Living Well’s Wellness programming.
