Efficacy of Cognitive Behavior Therapy among Caregivers of Dementia: An Outcome Study

This study was aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive behavior therapy in reducing caregiver burden and anger as well as improving the physical and mental health among the caregivers of patients with dementia of Alzheimer’s type in Pakistani culture. Using the within-subjects design, a sample of eight participants was selected through purposive sampling from psychiatric and neurology clinics in Lahore, Pakistan. Therapeutic intervention was comprised of ten sessions conducted over a period of 5-8 weeks. The main techniques used were psychoeducation, eliciting cognitive distortions, cost-benefit analysis, pie chart, evidence for and against, problem solving, relaxation training, guided imagery, stress management, nutrition education, sleep hygiene, time management, and physical activities. Pre and post assessment was done by using Burden Assessment Scale (Reinhard, Gubman, Horwitz, & Minsky, 1994), General Health Questionnaire-28 (Goldberg, 1972), and State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (Spielberger, 1999). Descriptive statistics for demographic variables and paired samples t-test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the therapeutic intervention significantly reduced caregiver’s perceived subjective and objective burden, anger, and significantly improved physical and mental health. The results of this study point towards the need for devising therapeutic intervention specific to caregivers of patients with dementia and other psychiatric illnesses.