Abstract

In this paper, we compare the effectiveness of logo therapy (LT) and cognitive therapy (CT) in alleviating symptoms of depression. For this purpose 45 elderly men aged between 65 to 85 years who inhabit in nursing houses were randomly put into two experimental and one control group (n = 45). The experimental groups received techniques of cognitive and logo therapies for 10 treatment sessions, 75 min for each sessions per week. All depressed participants were assessed using the 15-question Geriatric depression scale (GDS-15) before and after the treatment and the results were analyzed by two sample t-test, ANOVA and Tukey test. The results indicated that there were significant differences between the experimental groups and the control group. Both CT and Logo therapy reduced symptoms of depression. Analysis of the results of Tukey test showed that CT had the most and the control group had the least depression and logo therapy was also effective in reducing the disorder. Based on the results we conclude that CT and Logo therapy can be effective non-pharmacological treatment options for reducing negative spontaneous thoughts and depression, and increase quality of life and psychosocial functioning.

Key words: Depression, cognitive therapy, logo therapy.