"PEARLS ELDERLY DEPRESSION MANAGEMENT" PROGRAM

Program Description

"As you well know, illness and depression walk hand in hand for persons like me who have no family or real friends to cheer my darkened corner. Life holds little joy…. I have to create order out of chaos and happiness out of almost continual sorrow. It is not easy being alone and struggling to find validation in a youth-worshipping society … [Carl] left no stone unturned when it came to looking for tools to assist me in solving my predicaments, and he would always leave me with a feeling that my situation was somehow brighter. He truly helped me to discover ways to maintain better control of my life."
- PEARLS participant Lacey Gannon, in a letter she wrote to the City of Seattle in appreciation.

The "PEARLS" Program follows a three step process:

-Getting the senior to realize that depression is stemming from unresolved problems
-Directing the senior to become more involved in the community
-Helping them to identify what they enjoy spending their time on

PEARLS approach to elderly depression therapy treatment includes:

-Focusing on teaching each senior the skills necessary to move to action and make lasting life changes
-Counseling delivered in senior's home
-A design to be delivered in the community, primarily through existing service-provision programs
-Takeing a team-based approach, involving PEARLS counselors, supervising psychiatrists and medical providers
-Aiming to improve quality of life as well as reduce depressive symptoms
-Depression treatment for individuals with chronic illness

The health condition of the senior is assessed to ensure that the depression is not stemming from any other medical related cause.

Establishing a PEARLS program in an organization is possible through "PEARL's Training" Program.

"PEARLS" Training is currently under the sponsorship of the Center for Healthcare Improvement for Addictions, Mental Illness, and Medically Vulnerable Populations (CHAMMP) which is a Center of Emphasis at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.
source:pearlsprogram.org

-Read amazing success stories in treating senior citizen depression at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website

MORE PROGRAMS LIKE THIS ONE:

Find out more about the "PEARLS Elderly Depression Management" Program