Living Life to the Full is an eight-week mental health promotion course based on cognitive behaviour therapy principles. With funding from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s Healthy Communities Fund, CMHA Ontario has just wrapped up a scientific research study to evaluate the effectiveness of the course as a way to enhance mental well-being in older adults. The results are promising. The study demonstrated that the Living Life to the Full course was an effective method for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety and improving quality of life and mental well-being for older adults. These improvements were maintained, or further enhanced, months after course completion. Over 90 percent of participants reported that they were satisfied with the program and would recommend it to a friend.
Jennifer Hardy, the Living Life to the Full Ontario Project Coordinator, recently presented these findings at the Ontario Psychological Association Annual Conference on February 20, 2015. At the conference, Hardy displayed a poster entitled “Community-based group intervention for older adults experiencing low mood and stress: An Ontario pilot project” to conference delegates from a range of disciplinary backgrounds.
The poster presentation was well received by those in the field. A number of conference delegates recognized mental health services for older adults as an important priority in Ontario and beyond. CMHA Ontario received praise for the pilot and its goal of making mental health services more accessible to older adults.
To view the conference poster or scientific abstract, please visit the CMHA Ontario website.
Stay tuned for the final Living Life to the Full pilot report in March, 2015.