Impact of Psychotherapy and Cognitive restructuring on wellbeing of Geriatric Survivors of Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The present study documents the impact of Psychotherapy on wellbeing of geriatric survivors of Covid -19, who were dealing with post covid complications both physiological and psychological. Some were referred by counsellors and some by family members and some were referred through their physicians as they refused to continue medication and were emotionally shattered. This document is about twenty such elderly people. Present psychological condition was comorbid with pre-existing medical condition of chronic Diabetes, hypertension and Arthritis. There routine medication as prescribed by their physicians continued and were not altered in any respect. They were only worked on the psychologically morbid symptoms that were affecting their wellbeing. A pre-test was done by administering WHO-5, a reliable and valid measure to screen wellbeing of individuals. The findings showed poor wellbeing. Psychotherapy and cognitive restructuring strategies were used in the intervention process. Psychotherapy helped in developing a deeper insight into the past events that were causing psychological turbulences in the present. Cognitive restructuring strategies were used to address the cognitive distortions. The findings indicated a significantly positive outcome and improvement in wellbeing when tested pre-post on WHO-5 scale. These techniques helped in alleviating symptoms of stress, depressive episodes, generalised anxiety and helped in regulating emotions, behaviour, and cognitions. They were also able to get to a functional state in dealing with loss of their loved ones. They moved on from helplessness to strength to self-acceptance. Conclusively, Psychotherapy and cognitive restructuring are effective in improving wellbeing of geriatric survivors dealing with psychological, affective and cognitive issues in post covid recovery period.