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Article: Psychotherapy
- Article from:
- Encyclopedia of Aging
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PSYCHOTHERAPY
Psychotherapy involves individual or group meetings with a therapist trained to use various techniques to treat psychopathology. Psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and counselors can provide psychotherapy interventions to older adults with psychiatric disorders. Review of the literature suggests that psychotherapy is an effective treatment intervention, either alone or in conjunction with medication, for many psychological disorders in older adults.
Advanced age can be accompanied by bereavement, relationship conflicts (either marital or with adult children), or chronic or acute illness. Although such difficulties are more common among older adults than ...