Posttraumatic stress disorder in older adults: an overview of characteristics and treatment approaches

Abstract

Given the limited empirical evidence, caution is warranted in generalizing the reported findings. Nevertheless, it is possible to draw a number of conclusions concerning the characteristics and treatment of PTSD in older adults. Further research is needed to better understand the various presentations of PTSD in late life and to validate and improve the effectiveness of available treatment approaches.

The treatment of PTSD in an older adult Norwegian woman using narrative exposure therapy: a case report

“…She demonstrated improvements in PTSD and depressive symptoms, though her anxiety remained at a moderate level. The result is in line with preliminary studies indicating that life-review techniques and exposure-based psychotherapies might be beneficial for traumatized older adults (Böttche et al, 2012). The opinions concerning imaginal exposure in older adults has been mixed (Böttche et al, 2012), and this case report illustrates that it was well tolerated by this older adult subject.…”

“…The result is in line with preliminary studies indicating that life-review techniques and exposure-based psychotherapies might be beneficial for traumatized older adults (Böttche et al, 2012). The opinions concerning imaginal exposure in older adults has been mixed (Böttche et al, 2012), and this case report illustrates that it was well tolerated by this older adult subject. Results also align with the case report by Russo et al (2001), demonstrating the efficacy of imaginal exposure in treating PTSD as a result of childhood sexual abuse in a 57-year-old woman.…”

“…Older adults comprise an increasing proportion of the population in industrialized countries (Böttche, Kuwert, & Knaevelsrud, 2012). A recent study reports a 4.5% lifetime prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in older adults, with higher rates for women as compared to men (Pietrzak, Goldstein, Southwick, & Grant, 2012).…”

“…A recent study reports a 4.5% lifetime prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in older adults, with higher rates for women as compared to men (Pietrzak, Goldstein, Southwick, & Grant, 2012). Research on effective treatments for older patients suffering from PTSD is relatively sparse (Böttche et al, 2012). The majority of research on effective treatments for PTSD has focused on children, adolescents, and younger and middle-aged adults, and there are few representative epidemiological studies on the consequences of multiple traumas in older adults (Clapp & Beck, 2012).…”

“…Thorp et al (2015) reviewed some modifications that have been proposed for standard treatments, including increasing the structure of treatment, progressing at a slower pace, utilizing memory aids, and simplifying materials. A review by Böttche et al (2012) indicates that disorder-specific interventions combined with narrative life-review approaches may be effective.…”