Development and Initial Evaluation of the Caring Through COVID-19 Psychotherapy Group for Family Care Partners

Le résumé fourni par la source

Abstract This project details the development and initial evaluation of a manualized psychotherapy support group for family care partners of persons living with dementia, specially designed to address pandemic-related stressors. The authorship team, consisting of clinical geropsychologists, developed a treatment manual based on existing protocols, such as: cognitive behavioral therapy for pandemic-related stress, grief management and ambiguous loss, and caregiver family therapy. The resulting 8-week Caring Through COVID-19 psychotherapy group was piloted in an outpatient mental health clinic via tele-mental health with six family care partners of persons living with dementia. All participants were women and spouses or partners of the care recipient; mean age was 70.5 (SD = 9.07). Preliminary data showed a non-significant and small reduction in depression (d = .22) and non-significant moderate reductions in caregiver burden (d = .52) and pandemic-related stress (d = .64). Moderate non-significant improvements were observed in general caregiver self-efficacy (d = .62) and self-efficacy for emotional regulation (d = .67). The majority of participants reported that the content of the group was novel (83%) and relevant (83%); the most utilized topics outside of the group were accepting emotions (100%) and challenging negative cognitions (83%). Overall, most participants were very or extremely satisfied with the group (67%). Additional data is currently being collected with another cycle of the group (n = 4). Preliminary findings suggest that the Caring Through COVID-19 group may be beneficial for supporting family care partners during the pandemic. Considerations for implementation and future plans for dissemination will be discussed.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.