| Abstract: |
There is growing recognition that comprehensive care for cancer patients involves attending to the psychosocial needs of their informal caregivers (ICs). Randomized controlled trials are currently underway to evaluate the preliminary efficacy of meaning-centered psychotherapy for cancer caregivers (MCP-C) in enhancing spiritual well-being and meaning and decreasing burden, anxiety, and depression among ICs of patients with cancer. Previous studies have documented the many challenges of enrolling and maintaining ICs in in-person psychotherapy trials. Highlighted in the literature are the benefits that may be derived from interventions delivered in alternate modalities, such as over the telephone or Internet. In addition to the in-person intervention, our group is currently investigating the efficacy of MCP-C delivered over the Internet. If successful, the web-based version of MCP-C will have the potential to reach ICs throughout the country and the world who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to access high-quality face-to-face mental health care. In addition, a recent systematic review by our group highlighted existential distress as a particularly critical source of suffering among ICs of patients with brain tumors, whose loved ones often experience significant personality and neurocognitive changes and a rapid disease course. Hence, the delivery of MCP-C to ICs of brain tumor patients-and possibly an adaptation of MCP-C to meet the unique existential needs of these particularly burdened ICs-is another important application of this work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved) |
