老年人口快速上升，機構式照護已成為許多長者所需。如何為護理之家老年住民，提供優質之心理衛生照護，已成當今重要之議題。本研究以準實驗研究法探討正向懷舊團體對於護理之家老年住民的憂鬱狀態、自尊及生活滿意度之成效。以立意取樣方式，從某護理之家選取二病房符合研究條件之老年住民，分別為實驗組與對照組進行研究。懷舊治療團體於實驗組病房進行，每次1小時，每週1次，共舉行9次，自2002年9月至當年11月。實驗組與對照組之參與者，均分別於實驗前後一週衡量其憂鬱狀態、自尊及生活滿意度。以SPSS第10版統計軟體分析資料。結果顯示，團體懷舊治療顯著提昇住民之自尊，雖然在憂鬱狀態與生活滿意度方面之成效未達統計上顯著意義。懷舊團體可以促進護理之家老年住民之互動，此團體可成為日後之支持團體。本研究所發展之模式或可作為日後應用之參考。

The need to provide quality mental health care for elders in nursing home settings has been a critical issue, as the aging population grows rapidly and institutional care becomes a necessity for some elders. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to describe the effect of participation in reminiscence group therapy on older nursing home residents’ depression, self-esteem, and life satisfaction purposive sampling was used to recruit participants who met the study criteria. Residents of one ward were assigned to the reminiscence therapy group intervention, while residents of the other ward served as controls. Nine weekly one-hour sessions were designed to elicit reminiscence as group therapy for 12 elders in the experimental group. Another 12 elders were recruited for a control group matched to experimental subjects on relevant criteria. Depression, self-esteem, and life satisfaction were measured one week before and after the therapy. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, Version 10.0) was used to analyze data. Results indicated that group reminiscence therapy significantly improved self-esteem, although effects on depression and life satisfaction were not significant. Reminiscence groups could enhance elders’ social interaction with one another in nursing home settings and become support groups for participants. The model we created here can serve as a reference for future application in institutional care.