Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) for older adults with anxiety and depression

Anxiety and depression are prevalent among older adults and are associated increased disability, reduced quality of life and poorer physical health. Effective psychological treatments such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) are known to be effective and acceptable for older adults. However, as with younger adults, research indicates relatively few older adults access these treatments in their traditional face-to-face format. However, highlighting the potential of newer internet-delivered CBT (ICBT) approaches for increasing access to treatment, a large proportion of older adults are online and the overall proportion online is only likely to grow over time. Several clinical trials have now been conducted examining ICBT for older adults and the nature and finding of these emerging studies are reviewed in this chapter. Future directions for research focused in this area are also discussed.