Reminiscence - A Counseling Therapeutic Approach Among Hospitalized Elderly

Abstract

This research aimed to explore reminiscence among hospitalized elderly at the University of North Sumatera Hospital, Medan. This study was a qualitative descriptive with ten hospitalized elderly as the research participants. Participants were chosen by using the purposive sampling technique. The criteria of participants were the elderly above 60 years old, cooperative, and no dyspnea. The data collection was done with an interview for 30 – 60 minutes in one session before counseling. The thematic analysis was applied to determine the theme and sub-theme of reminiscence. The research revealed that there were six main sub-themes related to reminiscence, such as social connections, experiencing significant others’ death, work, married, hospitalization experience, and life obstacles. Reminiscence was found as an essential reminder that could ease the elderly during hospitalization. We could conclude that the integration of reminiscence was crucial for the elderly to express their feelings and reduce stress as the trigger in psychological problems.