“Is talk therapy effective for geriatric depression?”
My grandmother had depression ever since my grandfather died, and it's affecting her everyday routine. She takes Prozac for her depression, but it's not working. Do you think talk therapy can help her along with her anti-depressants?
10 Answers
Yes, medication can help treat symptoms of depression, but does not exactly heal the grief. Therapy along with medication management helps to bring comfort to the mind and expand on how to continue with a meaningful life.
Absolutely talk therapy could be effective as long as she is cognitively strong. Sounds like a hard adjustment for her as I can only imagine and she continues to grieve.
Sara Cole LPC CACIII NCC
Sara Cole LPC CACIII NCC
I would recommend discussing the depression symptoms with your grandmother's primary care physician. In older adults, some medical conditions may get mistaken as depression. That said, if it is the primary care physician's opinion that the symptoms are not caused by another medical condition and likely attributable to depression, psychotherapy can certainly be helpful in multiple ways.
Cherry Foultner
Counseling
Yes, the combination of both would be more helpful for her.
Seeing a therapist may help. Adjusting the dose of Prozac may be beneficial. Talk with her PCP before making any medication adjustments.
Talk therapy can be very helpful for depression at any age! I certainly encourage trying this. Other things to think about would be pet therapy. Also staying physically active is an important part of treating depression.
Thank you
Thank you
Absolutely! Have her try it
Hello thank you for reaching out. My condolences to your grandmother and family for the loss of your grandfather. Yes, there is evidence to support the combination of talk therapy and the use of anti-depressants is more effect than the use of anti-depressants alone. If your grandmother is willing, she can always schedule a consultation to see if it is something she is wanting to do.
Yes. Studies show that doing both talk therapy and taking an antidepressant is more effective in having a lower relapse rate that doing just medication or just talk therapy. Your grandmother is grieving and it is often helpful to talk about the loss of her husband and the good memories she is holding on to.
Read the article at this link for some insight to talk therapy.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-couch/201011/does-talk-therapy-really-work
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-couch/201011/does-talk-therapy-really-work
