fbpx

Effectiveness of ACT on reducing depression and anxiety in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This article focuses on the effectiveness of using Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with older adults, specifically targeting anxiety and depression, using a meta-analytic approach.

Key findings:

  • ACT has previously shown promising results in improving mental health in adults and those with comorbid conditions relevant to an older adult population; however, the application to older adults is not well-evidenced.
  • 6 studies met criteria for the meta-analysis, with 7 studies being included in the overall systematic review
  • Depressive symptoms: ACT had a small but significant effect in reducing depressive symptoms (SMD = -0.22; 95% CI: -0.38 to -0.06; p < 0.001) based on data from 576 older adults
  • Anxiety symptoms: ACT showed a small but non-significant effect in reducing anxiety symptoms with very low-quality evidence.
  • This review highlights issues with study methodological quality. Quality ratings are low and very low for depression and anxiety respectively

Recommendations for practice

  • There is still little, good quality, evidence for the application of ACT in older people
  • It may be that older adults require some adjustments that are not yet well-researched, include mode of delivery
  • The lack of use of exposure in some of the ACT for anxiety interventions are thought to contribute to the lack of change
  • ACT could be helpful in managing depression in older adults, but importantly the effect size was small and studies relatively poorly controlled

Sun, Y., Tian, Z., Ma, Y., Zhu, Q., Zheng, R., Guan, Y., & Zhang, X. (2024). Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Reducing Depression and Anxiety in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing.

Upcoming live training

Applying RFT in therapeutic settings featured image
3 hours
Applying RFT in therapeutic settings

Yvonne Barnes-Holmes

Read more
Introduction to emotion efficacy training (EET) featured image
4 hours
Introduction to emotion efficacy training (EET)

Aprilia West

Read more
Internal family systems: flexible selfing and parts work featured image
6 hours
Internal family systems: flexible selfing and parts work

Aprilia West

Read more

Knowledge hub

Related to your search/filter:

Knowledge hub

On-demand training

Related to your search/filter:

On-demand training

Blog: Latest insights into ACT

Related to your search/filter:

Blog: Latest insights into ACT

Resource hub

Related to your search/filter:

Resource hub

Join our newsletter to be the first to receive updates on our upcoming events, exclusive free resources and other valuable goodies. Sign up now and embark on your ACT journey with us!

You can unsubscribe at anytime. Read our full privacy policy here: Privacy policy