Elena Navarro

Las tareas intersesión en psicoterapia se describen como todos aquellos quehaceres que el terapeuta asigna al paciente para que este lleve a cabo por su cuenta, en los períodos entre las distintas sesiones. Entre otros recursos, cada vez se promueve con mayor frecuencia por parte de los profesionales la implementación de técnicas y recursos audiovisuales aplicados de manera complementaria, o integrada como módulos, dentro de los tratamientos psicológicos. Todas las investigaciones destacan el potencial del cine como una estrategia complementaria eficaz para los problemas de salud mental en niños y adolescentes. Integrado de manera adecuada en la práctica clínica, el cine, cortometraje, videos ad hoc, secuencias y documentales pueden facilitar la comprensión de los propios estados emocionales, promover la resiliencia y mejorar la calidad del proceso terapéutico. A lo largo de este trabajo, se presenta un recorrido basado en la revisión de la literatura sobre cómo el cine puede ser usado a modo de recurso en la psicoterapia y se proporciona un listado de películas que pueden ser de interés en el contexto terapéutico para abordar problemas psicológicos en niños y adolescentes.

The aim of this research was to analyse the reliability and validity of the Computerised Battery for Neuropsychological Evaluation of Children (BENCI) in a Cuban population of children and adolescents. The study involved 1714 Cuban students between the ages of 6 and 18 who were divided into three groups according to their level of education (Elementary: 6–11 years old; High School: 12–14 years old; and Pre‐University: 15–18 years old). All participants were evaluated using the BENCI with some also undergoing additional neuropsychological testing. The BENCI evaluates the following cognitive domains: processing speed, visuomotor coordination, attention, memory, language, and executive functions. The results showed that the BENCI has good test–retest reliability indices and high internal consistency values in Reasoning, Reaction Time, and Working Memory. In terms of validity, the data revealed significant correlations between the BENCI tests and other neuropsychological tests assessing similar cognitive functions. The BENCI also has discriminative validity, as it was found that performance on the tests varies according to the level of education of those being evaluated. In terms of construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis showed that the fit indices for the executive functions dimension of the BENCI are adequate. The data show that the BENCI is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing neurodevelopment in Cuban children and adolescents. Since this is the first neuropsychological test of its kind to be validated in the Cuban population, this finding is of particular importance.

Aims and objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the benefits of a caregiver training programme on the cognitive and functional status of older adults, and to compare the effects of this programme according to type of caregiver (professional vs. family caregiver).Background: Due to demographic changes that have resulted in an aging population, the role of caregiver of an older adult has become very important in recent years.Design and Methods: The sample was composed of 160 older adults: (a) 100 received care from caregivers who had taken the three‐month training programme (treatment group), of which 60 were professional caregivers and 40 were family caregivers, and (b) 60 received care from caregivers who had not taken the programme (control group). In order to evaluate programme effects on cognitive and functional status, we used both direct measures answered by the older adults (MMSE, CAPE and EuroQol) and caregiver reports (Barthel and RMPBC). We used a quasi‐experimental, pre‐post design. We followed SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines for reporting.Results: The results showed that older adults who were cared for by caregivers that had participated in the training programme showed gains in quality of life and cognitive ability and maintenance of functional ability. Within the treatment group, although everyone significantly improved their scores, the older adults cared for by family caregivers improved in more of the cognitive sub‐items than did their peers in the professional caregiver group.Conclusions: The data obtained show that a caregiver training programme based on cognitive stimulation produces cognitive, functional and health‐related quality‐of‐life benefits in older adults. Furthermore, the caregivers reported increased satisfaction with their work.Relevance to clinical practice: The improvements obtained in the older adults and in caregivers show the relevance of this type of intervention when working in the clinical field of caregiving.

The aim of the present research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a care-giver training programme that trains professional care-givers in cognitive stimulation strategies for functional maintenance in care-dependent older adults. The sample contained 69 older adults (37 in the treatment group, 32 control group) assessed with the Barthel Index, the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Clifton Assessment Procedure for the Elderly (Cognitive Scale). Participants in the treatment group were treated by professional care-givers who were trained with the programme CUIDA-2 in communication and cognitive stimulation strategies. The results from the Barthel Index showed significant differences in the post-intervention assessment and in the follow-up assessment, where the treatment group obtained higher scores, and there were significant differences within the treatment group between the initial assessment and the post-treatment assessment, as well as between the initial assessment and the follow-up. The data obtained reflect that a training programme to train professional care-givers produced functional benefits in the older adults, and these improvements persisted over time. Moreover, the care-givers saw themselves as more competent and more satisfied with their work.

(1) Introduction: With older adults, cognitive intervention programs are most often used for preventing or reversing a decline in cognitive functions, but it has been recently noted that there are insufficient high-quality research studies that report the effects of cognitive intervention on the cognitive functioning of older adults. (2) Objective: To analyze the available evidence concerning the effect of cognitive interventions for improving or maintaining the general cognitive status of older adults who present different cognitive levels. (3) Method: a review of studies published between 2010 and 2019 using the following databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane, Google Scholar, ProQuest and Medline. (4) Results: We selected 13 systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses. The results showed that the cognitive intervention programs improved general cognitive functioning and specific cognitive functions regardless of the initial cognitive level; that cognitive decline was slowed in older persons with dementia; and there was improvement in activities of daily living. Regarding duration of the results, benefits were maintained for periods of 2 months to 5 years. (5) Conclusion: Cognitive interventions have proven effective for maintaining and/or improving cognitive functioning in older adults regardless of their initial cognitive status. Even so, there are few studies that follow up these results to see whether they are maintained in the long term and whether there is transfer to other skills of daily life. However, we were able to observe in the present review how the participants’ cognitive level varied according to sociodemographic differences, and to identify which components of cognitive programs make them more effective. Based on the results found, we highlight the importance of designing cognitive intervention programs that meet these effectiveness criteria, in order to maximize the positive effects of such programs when working with a population of older adults.

The general objective of this study was to analyze cognitive plasticity as a variable related to successful aging in a group of young-old adults and old-old adults using the Auditory Verbal Learning Test—Learning Potential (AVLT-LP). Method: A total of 569 persons, with mean age 76.67 years (379 between the ages of 65 and 80 years, and 190 older than age 80). They were assessed with a socio-health questionnaire, with the AVLT-LP, and with the Spanish version of the Mini Mental State Examination. Results: The results showed significant differences on the test, in favor of the younger group, while the over 80 group gave poorer performance and showed less cognitive plasticity. With relation to gender, slight differences appeared in favor of the women, on the first four test trials, but not on the last two, nor in delayed recall or cognitive plasticity. As for cognitive status, the results showed significantly better task performance levels in healthy elders, as well as greater plasticity. Nonetheless, certain persons with high plasticity were also found among those with cognitive impairment. Conclusions: The data obtained here offers evidence for the importance of cognitive plasticity in elders and its relation to longevity and successful aging. It also provides information about the influence of variables like age, gender and cognitive status on a verbal memory and plasticity assessment task that is in wide use today.