Efficacy of Narrative Therapy for Older People With Depression

The research aims to investigate the efficacy of a narrative therapy group in reducing depressive symptoms among older people. This study adopts a mixed methods research design, involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches. In the quantitative study, a randomised controlled trial will compare a narrative therapy group with a waitlist control group to determine whether an eight-session narrative therapy group can reduce depressive symptoms in older people. The eight-session narrative therapy group will be delivered by a trained and experienced social worker or counsellor, and intervention outcomes will be assessed before and after the intervention using a standardised assessment tool for depressive symptoms. The qualitative study aims to examine the benefits, advantages, and limitations of the narrative therapy group from the users' perspective.

Efficacy of Narrative Therapy for older people with depression Objective: This research aims to investigate the efficacy of a narrative therapy group in reducing depressive symptoms among older people. Research Method: This study adopts a mixed methods research design, involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Using a randomised controlled trial, the quantitative study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a narrative therapy group in reducing self-stigma among people with depression. The qualitative study aims to examine the benefits, advantages, and limitations of the narrative therapy group from the users' perspective. Ethical considerations were reviewed and approved by the Research Committee of the City University of Hong Kong \[Reference No.: HU-STA-00001793\]. Written informed consent will be obtained from each participant on the day of initial screening for eligibility. Quantitative Research Method Objective. This quantitative study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the narrative therapy group in reducing depressive symptoms among older people. Research Design. This study is a multicentre randomised waitlist control trial. Eligible participants will be recruited from local elderly centres in various districts, through open recruitment via promotional activities and referrals from these centres. Recruitment will take place over the study period. Using block randomisation, participants will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the intervention group or the waitlist control group. Participants in the intervention group will receive an eight-session narrative therapy group in addition to treatment as usual, while those in the waitlist control group will receive treatment as usual provided by the elderly centre. A research assistant, blinded to group allocation, will conduct pre- and post-intervention outcome assessments using standardised assessment tools. Hypotheses: After completing the narrative therapy group, participants will show significantly greater improvement in depressive symptoms, self-esteem, self-stigma, sense of hope and wellbeing at post-intervention. Subject inclusion and exclusion criteria. The inclusion criteria are: 1. aged 60 years or above; 2. exhibiting depressive symptoms as assessed using a standardised assessment tool, namely the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI; Byrne et al., 2004), with a BDI score between 10 and 30; 3. being a service user of an elderly centre; and 4. providing informed consent to participate in this research. Exclusion criteria 1. Individuals with severe depression (i.e. a BDI score ≥ 31), dementia, psychosis, or self-reported suicidal thoughts are excluded from this study. 2. Individuals currently receiving a therapeutic intervention are also not excluded from this study. Sample Size Estimation. The sample size of this study is estimated by using power analysis G\*Power 3.1. Studies on interventions report a small to medium effect size in redu trial.show_full_description

Inclusion Criteria: 1. aged 60 years or above; 2. exhibiting depressive symptoms as assessed using a standardised assessment tool, namely the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI; Byrne et al., 2004), with a BDI score between 10 and 30; 3. being a service user of an elderly centre; and 4. providing informed consent to participate in this research. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Individuals with severe depression (i.e. a BDI score ≥ 31), dementia, psychosis, or self-reported suicidal thoughts are excluded from this study; and 2. Individuals currently receiving a therapeutic intervention are not excluded from this study.