• Your substantive responses of approximately 100-200 words to at least two peers are due

One of the fears the elderly experience is their decline in cognitive abilities. Late-life depression is most likely to affect the elderly ages 60 and over in which these individuals have a higher risk of dementia (Taylor, 2014). Depression is often left undiagnosed and one of the leading causes of suffering in elderly adults (Huang, Liu, Tsai, Chin, & Wong, 2015). For many elderly adults, the reality that they are limited to certain activities or environments can be stressful and lead to depression. Elderly adults may feel as though they are a nuisance to those they are depednat on such as their caretakers.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy also is known as CBT, has been shown to decrease depression in elderly adults. CBT is the cognitive approach to change an individual’s way of thinking or behavior and improve their coping strategies. CBT focuses on solutions and not the problem in order for the individual to overcome unhelpful negative thoughts ( Taylor, 2014). CBT with elderly adults was able to reduce depression by providing activities for individuals to participate in, provided group-based interaction, encouraged positive ways of managing depression, and promoted positive therapeutic relationships (Huang, Liu, Tsai, Chin, & Wong, 2015).

I have recently had personal experience with an elderly adult suffering from depression. She is someone very close to my heart and whom I’ve known all my life. This individual has always been financially and physically independent and very rare did she ever ask for help. In fact, this individual was always the person that helped others. I have seen her go from a happy, excited, and energetic soul to a complete stranger. Her physical limitations and confinement to her home have contributed to her depression. She is no longer able to drive, exercise, or take a walk around the neighborhood. These are things this individual was able to participate in without assistance. Now she is reliant on others to care for her basic needs and she is only able to walk a few steps at a time and refuses to use a walker. I believe CBT would help to reduce her depression and at least allow some type of interaction other than her family and medical staff. Being able to participate in a group discussion via face time would allow her some link to the world beyond her bedroom doors.

• Your substantive responses of approximately 100-200 words to at least two peers are due

It is common for the elderly to contemplate the meaning of their existence, and one emotional fear that they experience is the fear that their lives have not mattered (Solomon, 2004). The last stage of Erikson’s psychosocial theory is ego integrity versus ego despair. During this stage, individuals must come to terms with the events that have transpired in their lives, identify how and why their lives have mattered, and prepare themselves to face death (Kirst-Ashman & Zastrow, 2015). The life review is an evidence-based intervention that helps older adults enhance their experience of aging by adding meaning and purpose to their remaining years (Bengtson, Gans, Putney, & Silverstein, 2009). The purpose of the life review is to help individuals remember the significant events of their lives and identify and address unresolved experiences that may be impacting them (McInnis-Dittrich, 2014). The life review can help elderly adults constructively deal with changes in their lives by helping them create an accurate view of who they are now (as cited in McInnis-Dittrich, 2014). It can also help individuals gain perspective by remembering that their current poor health has not defined the majority of their life, and it can help reduce depression. Even though clients reflect on past positive and negative experiences, the goal of the life review is not for clients to stay stuck in their past. Instead, during the vitally important evaluation and summary phase, individuals evaluate and integrate their past experiences and then discuss what they hope to accomplish in the present and future phases of their lives (McInnis-Dittrich, 2014). Butler, Lewis, and Sunderland cautioned that in some cases, the life review could contribute to a person’s depression, particularly if they have experienced trauma. They advised therapists to carefully consider this possibility before engaging a client in the life review intervention (as cited in McInnis-Dittrich, 2014). My father influenced my perspective on the importance of identifying a sense of meaning in later adulthood. He experienced a stroke and was bedridden for seven years. During those seven years, he found meaning and purpose by talking with others about his life and the lessons he had learned. He also became a spiritual leader in our family and exemplified what it meant to have ego integrity and to live his last days gracefully and peacefully.