Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Older People

Ken Laidlaw, Dolores Gallagher-Thompson, Larry W. Thompson, Leah Dick-Siskin — 2003

Seeing older age as a time of loss and helplessness too often prevents therapists from providing treatments that can be of enormous benefit to older people. Ken Laidlaw, Larry Thompson, Leah Dick-Siskin and Dolores Gallagher-Thompson draw upon their collective wealth of clinical experience to provide a comprehensive and practical guide to the applications of CBT to older adults. Special features include: A new CBT model, effectively adapted from Beck's basic CBT model, for use with older adults. Numerous clinical examples of the usefulness of CBT to treat depression, anxiety, caregiver distress and sleep disturbances. Recommendations for treating depression co-morbid with common medical problems including stroke, Parkinson's disease, the dementias and arthritis. Specific recommendations for 'troubleshooting' frequent dilemmas, such as managing suicidality. Appendices containing blank examples of forms used within the text, and recommended self-help books and websites for further consultation. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Older People is essential reading for all clinical psychologists, psychiatrists and related health professionals who work with older people.