Reminiscence therapy is a psychological or psychosocial intervention used mainly in older people. Meta-analyses suggest a reduction in depressive symptoms, but quality and effect size vary and do not make it automatically superior to other treatments.
Through narration, dialogue, or evocative materials (photographs, objects, music, scents), the patient is invited to revisit significant episodes from life and organize them into a coherent narrative thread that strengthens personal identity, a sense of continuity, and the value of lived experience.
The intervention may be delivered in individual or group formats and can be used in both outpatient and residential settings. Unlike ordinary spontaneous conversation, reminiscence therapy is based on a structured setting with specific therapeutic goals and expert facilitation by trained psychologists, geriatricians, or educators.
Reminiscence therapy is based on psychodynamic, narrative, and cognitive models of aging. According to Erikson, the final stage of life involves a need to integrate one’s personal history and achieve a sense of wholeness and acceptance. Recovering memories enables unresolved conflicts to be processed, cohesion of self to be strengthened, and the present to be approached with greater awareness.
From a neuropsychological perspective, some aspects of autobiographical memory may remain relatively accessible in older people, but the profile varies with cognitive status and disease. Memories from the so-called reminiscence bump, often concentrated between adolescence and early adulthood, may be used as intervention material, without in themselves guaranteeing therapeutic benefit.
Autobiographical recall engages brain networks related to memory and the self; neuroendocrine changes observed in small studies are not an established clinical mechanism of the therapy.
Clinical value derives mainly from autobiographical structuring, cognitive stimulation and social interaction; expressions such as “transformative and reparative” do not describe a demonstrated biological effect.
Reminiscence therapy can be delivered in different formats according to therapeutic goals and the care setting. The main approaches are:
Reminiscence protocols vary in structure, duration, frequency and individual or group format. No universally superior number or duration of sessions exists; groups may offer social support but are not appropriate for every patient.
Reminiscence therapy has been studied, with heterogeneous results, in several later-life settings, including:
Suitability depends on the ability to participate in recall, clinical objectives and the risk that painful memories may be destabilizing; no clinical profile has been defined that reliably predicts a superior response.
Meta-analyses and controlled studies suggest a possible reduction in depressive symptoms in older people, but effects are heterogeneous and the overall methodological quality of available reviews has been judged critically low. A meta-analysis by Pinquart and Forstmeier (2012), covering 128 studies, found moderate effects on depressive symptoms and ego integrity, with smaller effects on other psychosocial outcomes.
For other outcomes, results are heterogeneous. Some reviews suggest possible benefits for self-esteem, loneliness, communication and interaction, while effects on cognitive functioning, anxiety, quality of life and well-being are inconsistent.
A generalizable direct benefit for caregivers has not been demonstrated, nor has a low dropout rate applicable to all settings. Tolerability, participation and dropout depend on the population, format and quality of delivery.
Reminiscence therapy may be considered a complementary psychological or psychosocial intervention for some older people with depressive symptoms, but is not automatically superior to other treatments and must be adapted to the clinical and cognitive profile. Its aim is to use autobiographical history as therapeutic material, without attributing unproven specific effects to it.
Within an integrated approach, autobiographical work may encourage reflection on lived experience and narrative continuity; the magnitude of clinical benefit varies and must be assessed individually.