A Study of The Clinical Effect and Dropout Rate of Drugs Combined with Group Integrated Psychotherapy on Elderly Patients with Depression.

BACKGROUND: Relevant studies have shown that group cognitive behavioral therapy is effective in treating patients with depressive disorder, but the dropout rate is high. The present study is aimed to explore the patterns of integrated group psychotherapy. AIMS: This study investigated the clinical effects of integrated group psychotherapy for elderly patients with senile depression. METHODS: One hundred elderly patients with senile depression were divided into the experiment group (n=50) and the control group (n=50) randomly. The experiment group was given regular pharmacological treatments combined with integrated group psychotherapy, while the control group was given regular pharmacological treatments combined with integrated group cognitive behavioral therapy. These two groups were assessed with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) before the study and at two weeks, four weeks and eight weeks after the treatments. RESULTS: =0.032). CONCLUSION: Medication treatments combined with the group integrated psychotherapy significantly improve the clinical effect for elderly patients with senile depression. The compliance is improved and the dropout rate declines.