Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
TURK PSIKOLOJI DERGISI, cilt.38, sa.92, 2023 (SSCI)
The decrease in the ability to maintain daily life after dementia diagnosis of people leads to the need for care. The difficulties of caregiving also increase the importance of interventions for caregivers. The aim of this study is to develop a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-based psychological intervention for family members who care for individuals with dementia, based on CBT and the Stress Process Model. Caregivers of 35 individuals with dementia, 31 (88.6%) female and 4 (11.4%) male, aged between 41 and 75 (M M = 59.37, SD = 7.85), participated in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (N N = 18) and control groups (N N = 17). Firstly, a pilot study was conducted with 12 participants. Participants completed the Demographic Information Form and the Brief Symptom Inventory. Participants in the intervention group received the developed intervention individually and in their own homes, one hour a week, once a week for eight weeks, and completed the measurements before and after the intervention. Participants in the control group were visited at home twice with an interval of eight weeks, and only measurements were taken during these visits. The findings show that the intervention reduces the psychological symptoms of family members who care for individuals with dementia. Although caregiving has negative effects on the psychological health of caregivers, this study points to the healing power of the developed intervention in terms of psychological symptoms and shows that its implementation will be beneficial for the psychological symptoms of caregivers.