Depressed in age bad therapy chance

Depressed in old age - bad therapy chance

04/02/2014

Twenty-five percent of over-sixty-year-olds with severe depression receive no treatment. This is the result of the fact check of the Bertelsmann Foundation.

Psychotherapy is hardly prescribed for the elderly; When therapy takes place, it usually consists of conventional medicines. Only about ten percent of elderly patients with depression are receiving adequate conventional medical care. In the 18 to 50 year olds, every third person receives a therapy from psychotherapy and antidepressants, which according to the Foundation is also a low rate.

Over the years, the trend is recognizing that mild depression is increasingly being treated with antidepressants. This is even more true for women than for men. At the same time, other forms of treatment are decreasing. Psychotherapies as well as combination treatments (antidepressants + psychotherapy) are almost completely absent for elderly patients. (Pm)