Cognitive-behavior therapy for older adults: How does it work?

The basic premise of cognitive -behavior therapy (CBT) is that depression is mediated by depressogenic patterns of thinking. Research with a general adult population has not consistently supported the proposed mediational effect of depressogenic thinking (Whisman, 1993), as measured by the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale (DAS; Beck, Brown, Steer, & Weissman, 1991). Our research suggests that the mediational effect of the DRS is even weaker with an older adult population. Proposed reasons for this age difference include a greater effect of the "common factors" of psychotherapy (Ilardi & Craighead, 1994) and an increased need to specifically treat hopelessness in older adults.