Transmissive Reminiscence Therapy with College Students and Institutionalized Senior Adults

Abstract

Abstract The aims of this study were to determine the effectiveness of five sessions of one-on-one, transmissive reminiscence therapy (TRT) and to assess the effects of serving as a facilitator for TRT. Fifty-one undergraduate college students from the University of Toledo were trained to conduct five 45-minute sessions of TRT with institutionalized senior adults. A pretest/posttest control group design was employed in order to detect differential effects of the therapy. The impact of the therapy was measured using a survey instrument, the Short Form General Health Survey (SF-36). The impact of serving as a TRT facilitator was measured qualitatively via weekly journals and a final reflection paper.