Effect of dialectical behaviour therapy on depression & anxiety among elderly individuals

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a therapeutic approach that can align a balance in a person's acceptance strategies with cognitive and behavioral change strategies. Therefore, it is of interest to evaluate the effectiveness of a 12-week Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program in reducing depression and anxiety among elderly individuals aged 65 years and above. Hence, a total of 40 participants were randomly assigned to either a DBT intervention group or a waitlist control group. Depression and anxiety levels were assessed before and after the intervention using the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), respectively. Participants in the DBT group demonstrated significant reductions in both depression and anxiety scores compared to the control group (p < .05), with moderate to large effect sizes (Cohen's d = 0.72 for depression; d = 0.69 for anxiety). Thus, data shows that DBT is an effective intervention for alleviating emotional distress in elderly populations and may be beneficial for integration into community-based mental health services for aging individuals.