Reducing Stress in Caregivers of People With Dementia in Psychiatric Care: A Proof-of-Concept Evaluation of an Emotion-Focused Group Intervention.

BackgroundCaregivers of people with dementia (CPwD) are at higher risk for psychological stress and mental health issues.ObjectiveThis study evaluated the effectiveness of a brief, four-session group intervention combining socio-medical education, mindfulness and emotion-focused support in reducing stress and improving psychological outcomes in an acute psychiatric hospital setting.MethodsA within-subject waiting-period control design with repeated measures was conducted with N = 52 CPwD. Assessments were performed at baseline, pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up. Changes across phases were analyzed using subsequent contrast analyses.ResultsFollowing the intervention, perceived stress decreased significantly (p = .038) and general functioning improved (p = .002) at follow-up. No significant changes were found for depressive symptoms or subjective well-being. The study protocol was designed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the joint Ethics Committee of the medical faculty at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (project number 22-0995).