Emotion-centered problem solving therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: a single-arm pilot study with middle-aged and older adults.
Objectives: Older adults may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effect of distress on cognition, thus explaining cognitive behavioral therapy's (CBT's) diminished efficacy for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in later life. Emotion-centered Problem Solving Therapy (EC-PST) may address this...
| Publicado en: | Aging & Mental Health Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 65 - 75 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
| Publicado: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jan2026
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=190647829&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 190647829 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 13607863 57E jtl: Aging & Mental Health issn: 13607863 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jan2026 vid: 30 iid: 1 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 190647829 10.1080/13607863.2025.2542399 ppf: 65 ppct: 10 formats: tig: atl: Emotion-centered problem solving therapy for generalized anxiety disorder: a single-arm pilot study with middle-aged and older adults. aug: au: Beaudreau, Sherry A. Otero, Marcela C. Lutz, Julie A. Gould, Christine E. Cassidy Eagle, Erin Suresh, Madhuvanthi Kramer, Abigail Wetherell, Julie Loebach Warren, Stacie L. Mashal, Nehjla M. affil: Sierra Pacific Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Munich, Germany Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA Department of Rehabilitation Psychology, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA Ray Dolby Brain Health Center, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, USA Mental Health Impact Unit 3, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA Department of Psychology, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, USA Department of Clinical Psychology, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Amman, Jordan su: Prevention of mental depression Psychotherapy Clinical trials Emotions Problem solving Patient satisfaction Generalized anxiety disorder Middle age Old age T-test (Statistics) Data analysis Pilot projects Treatment effectiveness Treatment duration Descriptive statistics Statistics Neuropsychological tests Data analysis software sug: subj: Prevention of mental depression Psychotherapy Clinical trials Emotions Problem solving Patient satisfaction Generalized anxiety disorder Middle age Old age Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology) T-test (Statistics) Data analysis Pilot projects Treatment effectiveness Treatment duration Descriptive statistics Statistics Neuropsychological tests Data analysis software keyword: cognitive behavioral therapies Older adults worry cognitive behavioral therapies Older adults worry ab: Objectives: Older adults may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effect of distress on cognition, thus explaining cognitive behavioral therapy's (CBT's) diminished efficacy for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in later life. Emotion-centered Problem Solving Therapy (EC-PST) may address this and other barriers to skill acquisition. Method: This single-arm pilot aimed to determine the feasibility of 6-session EC-PST to achieve clinically significant improvements in anxiety and/or worry symptoms in adults aged 55+ with GAD. Secondary analyses also examined reductions in depressive symptoms and assessed participant satisfaction with treatment components. Results: Sixteen adults aged 58 to 83 years old with current GAD were enrolled. Fourteen participants completed treatment. Twelve participants (85.7%) had a clinically significant pre- to post-treatment reduction in anxiety and/or worry symptoms. Additionally, nine (64.2%) had a clinically significant reduction in depressive symptoms. Qualitative feedback indicated a high level of satisfaction based on themes of reduced avoidance, increased confidence in managing anxiety, and feeling more in control of life problems. Conclusion: Findings support feasibility and acceptability of EC-PST for GAD in middle-aged and older adults that is worthy of follow up in a randomized controlled trial given the limited options for evidence-based therapy in later life anxiety. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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