Apply

Developing Psychological Well-Being in Distressed Older Patients

LinkedInFacebookTwitterPrintFriendlyShare
Citation

Maccarrone, J., Nierenberg, B. Developing Psychological Well-Being in Distressed Older Patients. J Health Serv Psychol 47, 31–39 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42843-021-00026-5

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are common disorders in older adults. For some, even after a combination of pharmacological and psychological treatments, residual symptoms and periodic relapse persist throughout the lifespan. This pattern can lead to pessimism, as well as an increasing deficit in euthymia. Well-Being Therapy is an innovative approach to addressing depression and anxiety symptoms that are often influenced and accompanied by low levels of psychological well-being. The core principles of well-being therapy, as well as the related concepts of euthymia, eudaimonia, and psychological well-being, are described and illustrated.

Visit CE.NationalRegister.org to access the continuing education course.

References

Abbott, R. A., Ploubidis, G. B., Huppert, F. A., Kuh, D., & Croudace, T. J. (2009). An evaluation of the precision of measurement of ryff’s psychological well-being scales in a population sample. Social Indicators Research, 97(3), 357–373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9506-x

Altunoz, U., Kokurcan, A., Kirici, S., Bastug, G., & Ozel-Kizil, E. (2017). Clinical characteristics of generalized anxiety disorder: Older vs. young adults. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 72(2), 97–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2017.1390607

Boehlen, F. H., Herzog, W., Schellberg, D., Maatouk, I., Saum, K., Brenner, H., & Wild, B. (2017). Gender differences in self-perceived personal resources of older adults with generalized anxiety symptoms. Journal of Aging Science, 05(01). https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-8847.1000178

Boehlen, F. H., Herzog, W., Schellberg, D., Maatouk, I., Schoettker, B., Brenner, H., & Wild, B. (2020). Gender-specific predictors of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms in older adults: Results of a large population-based study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 262, 174–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.10.025

Canuto, A., Weber, K., Baertschi, M., Andreas, S., Volkert, J., Dehoust, M., Sehner, S., Suling, A., Wegscheider, K., Ausín, B., Crawford, M. J., Da Ronch, C., Grassi, L., Hershkovitz, Y., Muñoz, M., Quirk, A., Rotenstein, O., Santos-Olmo, A., Shalev, A.,…Härter, M. (2018). Anxiety disorders in old age: Psychiatric comorbidities, quality of life, and prevalence according to age, gender, and country. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(2), 174–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2017.08.015

Creighton, A. S., Davison, T. E., & Kissane, D. W. (2015). The prevalence of anxiety among older adults in nursing homes and other residential aged care facilities: A systematic review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 31(6), 555–566. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.4378

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2006). Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: An introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1

Devanand, D. P. (2013). Dysthymic disorder in the elderly population. International Psychogeriatrics, 26(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1017/s104161021300166x

Eysenck, M. W., & Fajkowska, M. (2017). Anxiety and depression: Toward overlapping and distinctive features. Cognition and Emotion, 32(7), 1391–1400. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2017.1330255

Fava, G. (2016). Well-being therapy: Treatment manual and clinical applications (1st ed.). Karger: Switzerland

Fava, G. A. (1999). Well-being therapy: Conceptual and technical issues. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 68(4), 171–179. https://doi.org/10.1159/000012329

Fava, G. A., & Bech, P. (2015). The concept of euthymia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 85(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1159/000441244

Fava, G. A., & Guidi, J. (2020). The pursuit of euthymia. World Psychiatry, 19(1), 40–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20698

Fava, G. A., Rafanelli, C., Grandi, S., Canestrari, R., & Morphy, M. A. (1998b). Six-year outcome for cognitive behavioral treatment of residual symptoms in major depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155(10), 1443–1445. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.155.10.1443

Fava, G. A., Ruini, C., Rafanelli, C., Finos, L., Conti, S., & Grandi, S. (2004). Six-year outcome of cognitive behavior therapy for prevention of recurrent depression. American Journal of Psychiatry, 161(10), 1872–1876. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.161.10.1872

Fava, G.a. & Tomba, E. (2009). Increasing psychological well-being and resilience by psychotherapeutic methods. Journal of Personality. 77(6), 1903-2934. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00604.x

Fava, M., Rush, A., Alpert, J. E., Carmin, C. N., Balasubramani, G., Wisniewski, S. R., Trivedi, M. H., Biggs, M. M., & Shores-Wilson, K. (2006). What clinical and symptom features and comorbid disorders characterize outpatients with anxious major depressive disorder: A replication and extension. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 51(13), 823–835. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674370605101304

Friedman, E. M., Ruini, C., Foy, C. R., Jaros, L., Love, G., & Ryff, C. D. (2019). Lighten up! a community-based group intervention to promote eudaimonic well-being in older adults: A multi-site replication with 6 month follow-up. Clinical Gerontologist, 42(4), 387–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2019.1574944

Friedman, E. M., Ruini, C., Foy, R., Jaros, L., Sampson, H., & Ryff, C. D. (2015). Lighten up! a community-based group intervention to promote psychological well-being in older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 21(2), 199–205. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2015.1093605

Grenier, S., Desjardins, F., Raymond, B., Payette, M., Rioux, M., Landreville, P., Gosselin, P., Richer, M., Gunther, B., Fournel, M., & Vasiliadis, H. (2018). Six‐month prevalence and correlates of generalized anxiety disorder among primary care patients aged 70 years and above: Results from the esa‐services study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 34(2), 315–323. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5023

Guidi, J., Rafanelli, C., & Fava, G. A. (2018). The clinical role of well-being therapy. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 72(6), 447–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2018.1492013

Jahoda, M. (2006). The psychological meaning of various criteria for positive mental health. In Current concepts of positive mental health (pp. 22–64). Basic Books. https://doi.org/10.1037/11258-003

Jayasekara, R., Procter, N., Harrison, J., Skelton, K., Hampel, S., Draper, R., & Deuter, K. (2014). Cognitive behavioural therapy for older adults with depression: A review. Journal of Mental Health, 24(3), 168–171. https://doi.org/10.3109/09638237.2014.971143

Khazanov, G., Ruscio, A., & Swendsen, J. (2019). The “brightening” effect: Reactions to positive events in the daily lives of individuals with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Behavior Therapy, 50(2), 270–284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2018.05.008

King-Kallimanis, B., Gum, A. M., & Kohn, R. (2009). Comorbidity of depressive and anxiety disorders for older americans in the national comorbidity survey-replication. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17(9), 782–792. https://doi.org/10.1097/jgp.0b013e3181ad4d17

Kishita, N., & Laidlaw, K. (2017). Cognitive behaviour therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: Is cbt equally efficacious in adults of working age and older adults?. Clinical Psychology Review, 52, 124–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.01.003

Kvaal, K., McDougall, F. A., Brayne, C., Matthews, F. E., & Dewey, M. E. (2008). Co-occurrence of anxiety and depressive disorders in a community sample of older people: Results from the mrc cfas (medical research council cognitive function and ageing study). International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(3), 229–237. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1867

Miloyan, B., Byrne, G. J., & Pachana, N. A. (2015). Threshold and subthreshold generalized anxiety disorder in later life. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 23(6), 633–641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jagp.2014.08.010

Moeenizadeh, M., & Salagame, K. (2010). The impact of well – being therapy on symptoms of depression. International Journal of Psychological Studies, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.5539/ijps.v2n2p223

Pietrzak, R. H., Kinley, J., Afifi, T. O., Enns, M. W., Fawcett, J., & Sareen, J. (2012). Subsyndromal depression in the united states: Prevalence, course, and risk for incident psychiatric outcomes. Psychological Medicine, 43(7), 1401–1414. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291712002309

Ruini, C., Albieri, E., & Vescovelli, F. (2014). Well-being therapy: State of the art and clinical exemplifications. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 45(2), 129–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-014-9290-z

Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069

Ryff, C. D. (2014). Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 83(1), 10–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000353263

Ryff, C.D., Radler, B.T., & Friedman, E.M. (2015). Persistent psychological well-being predicts improved self-rated health over 9-10 years: Longitudinal evidence from MIDUS. Health Psychology Open, July-Decmeber, 2015; 2(2):2055102915601582. doi: 10.1177/2055102915601582.

Schoevers, R. A., Deeg, D., van Tilburg, W., & Beekman, A. (2005). Depression and generalized anxiety disorder: Co-occurrence and longitudinal patterns in elderly patients. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13(1), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1097/00019442-200501000-00006

Springer, K. W., Hauser, R. M., & Freese, J. (2006). Bad news indeed for ryff’s six-factor model of well-being. Social Science Research, 35(4), 1120–1131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2006.01.003

Stangier, U., Consbruch, K., Hofling, V., Lucke, P., Lin, J., Leibing, E., Hoyer, J., Willutzki, U., Hiller, W. & Clark, D.M. (2014). Effective components of cognitive therapy for social anxiety disorder. Netherlands: Papers presented at European Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies Congress.

Zhang, X., Norton, J., Carrière, I., Ritchie, K., Chaudieu, I., & Ancelin, M. (2015a). Risk factors for late-onset generalized anxiety disorder: Results from a 12-year prospective cohort (the esprit study). Translational Psychiatry, 5(3), e536–e536. https://doi.org/10.1038/tp.2015.31

Zhang, X., Norton, J., Carrière, I., Ritchie, K., Chaudieu, I., & Ancelin, M.-L. (2015b). Generalized anxiety in community-dwelling elderly: Prevalence and clinical characteristics. Journal of Affective Disorders, 172, 24–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2014.09.036

Thank You to Our Advertisers for This Issue

1200 New York Ave NW, Ste 800

Washington DC 20005

p: 202.783.7663

f: 202.347.0550

Endorsed by the National Register