Abstract
This study examined the effects of individual reminiscence therapy in Japanese community-dwelling older adults without dementia. Participants (twenty three men and fifty seven women, mean age=82.6 yrs) were recruited from a community day-care center. They were randomly assigned to a reminiscence therapy group or a control group. Participants in the reminiscence group completed five or six weekly sessions (30-60 minutes) of individual reminiscence therapy. Participant's depression, life satisfaction, and self-esteem were assessed before and after the sessions. The results showed that the reminiscence group had a significant improvement in self-esteem. Thus individual reminiscence therapy can be a tool to maintain or improve self-esteem for Japanese older adults without dementia.
