ACCEPTABILITY RATINGS OF PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS FOR ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS

Adults age 60 and older were presented with written scenarios depictin g a 75-year-old woman with a behavioral problem. The client in the cas e varied by cognitive capacity (impaired or intact), behavior problem (physical aggression, verbal disurption, or noncompliance), and living situation (nursing home or family home). Participants rated sir types of psychotherapy treatments with Kazdin's Treatment Evaluation Invent ory: person-centered therapy, strategic family therapy, transactional analysis, play reading, group therapy and purposeful activity All trea tments were considered acceptable by these older respondents; however person-centered therapy was rated the most acceptable. These treatment s were also rated as slightly more acceptable for cognitively intact c afe clients than for impaired ones. Treatment ratings varied according to the case client's living situation (i.e., nursing home or family h ome).