Efficacy of group therapy to reduce mental distress in women with non‐metastatic breast cancer: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Objective: Group treatments have proven to be effective for many mental disorders and showed beneficial effects in patients with medical illness. Aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize the efficacy of group therapy for women with non-metastatic breast cancer. Methods:We included studies comparing group therapy for women with nonmetastatic breast cancer to non-active control groups, active control conditions, and individual psychotherapy. The primary outcome was mental distress, secondary outcomes were quality of life, coping, existential outcomes, fatigue, pain, and side effects. A comprehensive search was conducted in Medline, Web of Science, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, and DARE complemented by a manual search.Random-effects meta-analyses were run separately for different types of control groups.Results: Thirty-seven studies (5902 patients) were included. Small effects on mental distress in favor of group treatment were found (non-active control groups: n = 19, g = 0.42, 95% CI [0.29; 0.56], I 2 = 61.6%; active control conditions: n = 6, g = 0.20, 95% CI [0.06; 0.35], I 2 = 0%). Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and third wave CBT group approaches proved to be most effective. Group treatments also showed beneficial effects on secondary outcomes, with most profound evidence on quality of life and coping.Conclusions: Results suggest that group interventions have the potential to reduce mental distress in women facing breast cancer. In the light of the considerable heterogeneity of most study effects, there is a need for more rigorous studies to strengthen the promising evidence and for trials examining the impact of patient and intervention characteristics on outcomes.Registration: PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews, CRD42020184357.

A comprehensive examination of mental health in patients with head and neck cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis

“…As for patients experiencing evident symptoms but who do not meet criteria for a disorder, close monitoring of symptoms is recommended. Additionally, group psychotherapeutic approaches have shown strong evidence in alleviating distress in oncologic patient samples while maintaining cost-effectiveness ( 102 , 103 ).…”

The Lived Experiences of Pregnant and Parenting Women in Recovery Toward Medication Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

“…71,72 During focus group interactions, women’s conversations were consolatory, consultative, and informative, creating learning opportunities. 73,74 Similarity of experiences fostered positive feelings, commitment, encouragement, belongingness, and a sense of social inclusivity and outcomes, which few studies have reported. Therefore, we recommend additional studies of this approach.…”

Group therapy for youth behavioral concerns: A meta-analysis.

“…This review was registered in the international prospective register of systematic reviews under the Registration Number D42023414815. For the present study, we relied on 13 recently published meta-analyses testing the efficacy of group therapy for common psychiatric disorders to develop our inclusion criteria (Alldredge et al, 2023;Barkowski et al, 2020;Burlingame et al, 2016Burlingame et al, , 2018Burlingame et al, , 2020Janis et al, 2021;Rosendahl et al, 2023). Eligible studies (a) were randomized controlled trials published in 1990 or later, (b) involved the treatment of behavioral concerns, (c) assessed the efficacy of child group treatment, with no participants older than 18, (d) included at least one comparison condition, and (e) were in English.…”