PSYCHOSOCIAL TREATMENTS WITH DEPRESSED OLDER ADULTS - A RESEARCH UPDATE

Psychotherapeutic techniques can benefit elderly, depressed patients w hen the special needs of this population are taken into account in des igning and implementing therapy Plans. Combination treatment with medi ation and psychotherapy may be the optimum therapy in this population, and it deserves greater research attention. The author discusses some of the key conclusions reached by the 1991 National Institutes of Hea lth Consensus Development Conference on Diagnosis and Treatment of Dep ression in Late Life, some of the studies the Conference examined and subsequent studies that support or raise questions about those conclus ions.