- Page navigation anchor for Management of depression and referral of older people to psychological therapiesManagement of depression and referral of older people to psychological therapiesFrost and colleagues1 bring up an important – often under-recognised – topic and its associated challenges to our attention.With the continuity of care allowed, and the knowledge of both a patient’s social context and their comorbidities which influence treatment options, there is little doubt that primary care has a central role in the management of elderly people with depression.Individualising a treatment plan based on the circumstances of a person is crucial2; assumptions on an elderly person’s preferences are likely to be detrimental. Several factors need to
be kept in mind when deciding on a treatment strategy – both clinician and patient preferences, manual dexterity, eyesight issues, access to technology, mobility, previous history of anxiety and/or depression (and previous successful treatment options), comorbidities, polypharmacy, etc.Exploring all the above is invariably difficult within the standard 10-minute consultation as the review points out. It is only by investing the time and e...Show MoreCompeting Interests: None declared.