Evidence brief: Virtual and remote mental health care for older adults

This evidence brief provides a review of recent research related to virtual mental health and addiction care for older adults. It explores the effects of different virtual technologies, barriers and enablers to use and how interventions were adapted for older adults.

What you need to know:

• Virtual mental health care, such as internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural therapy (iCBT) or video-based psychotherapies, can be effective at improving mild to moderate symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in older adults.
• No studies looked at virtual care for substance use disorder or bipolar disorder.
• Common adaptations to providing virtual care to older adults include setting up automatic notification/reminders, providing additional technical support, using memory, visual or hearing aids, and including an option for a friend/family member to facilitate conversation.

Download and share the English or French PDF.

If you're interested in resources like this one, consider joining the Understanding Mental Health and Well-Being in Later Life Community of Interest (CoI)! The CoI is a dedicated space for service providers working with older adults to connect with other health service providers and share best practices and resources.