PSYC 1010 Chapter Notes - Chapter 15: Major Depressive Episode, Tricyclic Antidepressant, Interpersonal Psychotherapy

• School: York University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 1010
• Professor: Doug Mc Cann

Document Summary

Depression is common in older people and contributes to physical health problems, chronic disability, and increased mortality among the elderly. Geriatric depression is a highly recurrently problem. After successful treatment of depression, elderly patients tend to relapse more quickly and more frequently than younger clients. Purpose: to determine whether a combination of insight therapy and antidepressant medication could reduce the recurrence of depression in elderly population. Participants: 107 elderly patients with recurrent, unipolar, major depression: minimum age was 60, subjects had all been successfully treated for a recent episode of depression and had remained stable for 4 months. Treatments: medication employed was nortriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant that appears to be relatively effective and well tolerated in elderly populations: insight therapy was interpersonal psychotherapy (ipt) Approach in therapy that emphasizes the social roots of depression and focuses on how improved social relationships can protect against depression.