Counselling carers of the elderly at home: a preliminary study

A comparative study of two different methods of counselling for informal carers of elderly people with dementia was carried out in their own homes over an 18-week period. Carers were randomly allocated to short-term emotional support, information-provision or no-treatment control groups. Carers were assessed for mood, stress (Beck Depression Inventory and General Health Questionnaire), degree of burden and knowledge of problems of dementia. Carers receiving emotional support experienced the greatest reduction in stress, whereas those receiving information only showed an increase in knowledge, but no reduction in stress.