A Single-Case Design Investigation for Measuring the Efficacy of Gestalt Therapy to Treat Depression in Older Adults with Dementia in Italy and in Mexico: A Research Protocol

Alessandra Merizzi, Rosanna Biasi, José Fernando Álvarez Zamudio, Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb, Mirko Di Rosa and Sara Santini
Additional contact information
Alessandra Merizzi: Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Aging, IRCCS INRCA-National Institute of Health and Science on Aging, Via Santa Margherita 5, 60124 Ancona, Italy
Rosanna Biasi: Istituto di Gestalt HCC Human Communication Centre Italy, Via S. Sebastiano 38, 96100 Siracusa, Italy
José Fernando Álvarez Zamudio: Instituto Humanista de Psicoterapia Gestalt (IHPG), Africa 6, La Concepción, Mexico City 04020, Mexico
Margherita Spagnuolo Lobb: Istituto di Gestalt HCC Human Communication Centre Italy, Via S. Sebastiano 38, 96100 Siracusa, Italy
Mirko Di Rosa: Unit of Geriatric Pharmacoepidemiology and Biostatistics, IRCCS INRCA-National Institute of Health and Science on Aging, Via Santa Margherita 5, 60124 Ancona, Italy
Sara Santini: Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Aging, IRCCS INRCA-National Institute of Health and Science on Aging, Via Santa Margherita 5, 60124 Ancona, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: Psychotherapy is one of the evidence-based clinical interventions for the treatment of depression in older adults with dementia. Randomised controlled trials are often the first methodological choice to gain evidence, yet they are not applicable to a wide range of humanistic psychotherapies. Amongst all, the efficacy of the Gestalt therapy (GT) is under-investigated. The purpose of this paper is to present a research protocol, aiming to assess the effects of a GT-based intervention on people with dementia (PWD) and indirect influence on their family carers. The study implements the single-case experimental design with time series analysis that will be carried out in Italy and Mexico. Six people in each country, who received a diagnosis of dementia and present depressive symptoms, will be recruited. Eight or more GT sessions will be provided, whose fidelity will be assessed by the GT fidelity scale. Quantitative outcome measures are foreseen for monitoring participants’ depression, anxiety, quality of life, loneliness, carers’ burden, and the caregiving dyad mutuality at baseline and follow-up. The advantages and limitations of the research design are considered. If GT will effectively result in the treatment of depression in PWD, it could enrich the range of evidence-based interventions provided by healthcare services.

Keywords: Gestalt therapy; dementia; depression; single-case experimental design; psychosocial interventions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3260/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3260/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3260-:d:768085

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().