Effectiveness of a Cancer Bereavement Therapeutic Group

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a novel cancer bereavement group. Twenty-seven participants attended a sixsession cancer bereavement therapeutic group. Data were collected at baseline, intervention completion, and three-month follow-up. Grief intensity and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety were reduced postintervention, and self-compassion increased. At follow-up, improvement remained for grief, PTSD, and depression. A small quasi-experimental waiting-list comparison group showed no change on any measure between baseline and waiting-list end. This study provides preliminary evidence that a brief therapeutic group is an effective intervention for cancer bereavement.

Development of a novel COMPAssion focused online psyChoTherapy for bereaved informal caregivers: the COMPACT feasibility trial protocol

“…The number of required study participants was ascertained to be 60. The previous feasibility study in this area was conducted in about 25–50 cases 19 32–36. Adding the 10 cases for drop-out, we determined 60 as the appropriate target sample size.…”

Criterion a issue: What other events lead to the onset of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms? A meta-analysis.

“…Several studies found that PTSD symptoms may develop also after a non-Criterion A event such as infidelity (Roos et al, 2019), childbirth (Cigoli et al, 2006), social trauma (Carleton et al, 2011), bereavement due to expected death (Jerome et al, 2018), discrimination (Wei et al, 2015), cancer (Swartzman, Sani, & Munro, 2017), workplace harassment (Tatar & Yüksel, 2019), or foot-and-mouth disease (Olff et al, 2005). Anders et al (2012) identified a significant effect between relational traumas (e.g., breakup, rejection, and cheating) and PTSD symptoms and found no differences between A1 and non-A1 relational events in terms of outcome.…”