Citation

Babins LH, Dillion JP, Merovitz S. Activ. Adapt. Aging 1988; 12(1): 73-86.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1988, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1300/J016v12n01_06

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The present study evaluated the effects of validation therapy on disoriented institutionalized elderly females who were 80 years and older. Validation therapy is a humanistic group approach used for disoriented elderly. The underlying principles are similar to those used in Rogerian Psychotherapy. Stages of disorientation were based on the Tool for Assessing the Degree of Confusion in the Elderly developed by Marlene Peoples. A total of 12 subjects in stages two and three of disorientation participated. There were five subjects that were selected for Validation therapy and seven for a no-treatment control group. The Validation group met twice a week totalling 22 sessions. Cognitive, social and behavioral measures were used. The results showed no cognitive improvements, and there were some social changes as measured by a rating scale. Direct observations revealed that subjects expressed themselves more during the last three sessions than the first three sessions. The implications were discussed.