A comparison of treatment outcomes in generalized mental health care between younger adults and older adults with an anxiety disorder, OCD, or PTSD

Anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are highly prevalent in older adults and significantly reduce quality of life. Yet, older adults are less likely to receive psychological interventions than adults of working age. In addition, anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD are poorly studied in older adults. While it is well established that psychological interventions are effective in the treatment of anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD in adults of working age (Carpenter et al., 2018), it is less well established whether these psychological interventions are also effective for older adults. Clinicians seem to share the idea that older adults with common mental disorders such as a depression or an anxiety disorder benefit less from psychological interventions compared to adults of working age (Kessler & Blachetta, 2020; Kessler & Schneider, 2019). However, the scientific evidence for these assumptions remains rather mixed (i.e., Hendriks, Oude Voshaar et al., 2008; Kishita & Laidlaw, 2017). The aim of this project is to investigate treatment outcomes of brief psychological interventions in generalized mental health care among older adults with anxiety disorders, OCD, or PTSD, and to compare these outcomes to younger adults.