Effects of a reminiscence program among institutionalized elderly adults
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Updated: May 9, 2026

Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
Juan Carlos Meléndez-Moral1, Laura Charco-Ruiz, Teresa Mayordomo-Rodríguez
1Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain. melendez@uv.es
Background:
Institutionalization during old age requires tremendous adaptability. Among the main consequences of the difficulty of adapting to the institutional context are prevalent depressive symptoms and low well-being. Reminiscence therapy has proven to be among the most effective at minimizing these outcomes.
Method:
This study purpose was to investigate the usefulness of reminiscence intervention in an elderly, institutionalized sample. Following a group format, the intervention lasted eight sessions and compared a treatment group and a control group, using pre-post measures and a single-blind design. We predicted that reminiscence intervention would have a positive impact on depressive symptoms, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and psychological well-being.
Results:
Significant results were obtained, including a drop in depressive symptoms and improved self-esteem, satisfaction, and psychological well-being.
Conclusions:
We conclude that reminiscence intervention yielded positive effects in institutionalized, elderly participants.
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