Academic paper: Psychological interventions for improving the mental health and wellbeing of unpaid carers

Carers Trust has published a review of academic peer-review evidence on what psychological interventions are effective for improving the mental health and wellbeing of unpaid carers.

Its key findings are:

  • Using a combination of different types of interventions is consistently found to be the most effective for improving adult carer wellbeing. A combination of psychoeducation and some form of mental health therapy was found to be particularly beneficial
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been shown to help improve clinical outcomes for carers, including depression and anxiety.
  • Acceptance and commitment therapy has been shown to help improve depression, anxiety and quality of life for carers.
  • Other therapies that are likely helpful for carer wellbeing include existential therapy and mindfulness/meditation.
  • This review could not make generalisable findings on the effectiveness of young carer psychological interventions due to the lack of robust research. Therefore, more robust study designs are needed in this area.

Read the full report at the link below to find out more about the effectiveness of other interventions, tips on how to deliver them to carers, the specific outcomes they can improve, and more recommendations for practitioners and policy-makers.

Full report