Deconstructing therapeutic mechanisms in cancer support groups: do we express more emotion when we tell stories or talk directly to each other?

Studies indicate that story-telling and emotional expression may be important therapeutic mechanisms. This study examined how they work together over 1 year of supportive-expressive group therapy (SET). Participants were 41 women randomized to SET.

Talking with text: communication in therapist-led, live chat cancer support groups.

CancerChatCanada is a pan-Canadian initiative with a mandate to make professionally led cancer support groups available to more people in Canada. Although online support groups are becoming increasingly popular, little is known about therapist-led, synchronous groups using live chat. The purpose of this study was to generate a rich descriptive account of communication experiences in CancerChatCanada groups and to gain an understanding of processes associated with previously-reported benefits.

Cancer patients' experiences of the early phase of individual counseling in an outpatient psycho-oncology setting.

Distress is a common and substantive problem associated with the invasive nature of cancer. Psychosocial interventions can alleviate distress and enhance quality of life, with a wealth of research demonstrating benefits of group interventions. Less is known, however, about the value of individual psychological counseling for cancer patients.

Decrease in depression symptoms is associated with longer survival in patients with metastatic breast cancer: a secondary analysis.

Purpose: Numerous studies have examined the comorbidity of depression with cancer, and some have indicated that depression may be associated with cancer progression or survival. However, few studies have assessed whether changes in depression symptoms are associated with survival.

Methods: In a secondary analysis of a randomized trial of supportive-expressive group therapy, 125 women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) completed a depression symptom measure (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale [CES-D]) at baseline and were randomly assigned to a treatment group or to a control group that received educational materials.

Art groups for marginalized women with breast cancer.

Professionally led support groups can significantly reduce distress, trauma symptoms, and pain for women with breast cancer. Despite the known benefits, women with breast cancer from marginalized groups tend not to participate in support groups. It is important to address barriers that prevent their participation and to identify types of support groups that appeal to as wide a range of women as possible.

Videoconferencing for delivery of breast cancer support groups to women living in rural communities: a pilot study.

Women with breast cancer in rural areas are likely to exhaust their usual sources of psychosocial support while still facing challenges posed by breast cancer, but are unlikely to have access to professionally led support groups. In this community-based project, we assessed the feasibility and acceptability of providing support groups to women with breast cancer in a large rural area using videoconferencing and a workbook journal, and we assessed the intervention's potential to reduce distress and increase emotional expression and self-efficacy for coping with cancer. Twenty-seven women in the Intermountain Region of northeastern California participated in eight-session support groups led by an oncology social worker by going to nearby videoconferencing sites.

A longitudinal study of depression, pain, and stress as predictors of sleep disturbance among women with metastatic breast cancer.

Objective: Sleep disturbances are common among women with breast cancer and can have serious consequences. The present study examined depression, pain, life stress, and participation in group therapy in relation to sleep disturbances in a sample of women with metastatic breast cancer.

Methods: Ninety-three women with metastatic breast cancer participated in a large intervention trial examining the effect of the group therapy on their symptoms.

A narrative view of art therapy and art making by women with breast cancer.

Art therapy (with an art therapist) and art making (without an art therapist) show promise as avenues for psychosocial support for women with breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how 17 women with breast cancer in Canada and the USA used art therapy and their own art making to address their psychosocial needs, focusing particularly on meaning making. Narrative analysis of interviews yielded four storylines: Art and Art Therapy as a Haven; Getting a Clearer View; Clearing the Way Emotionally; and Enhancing and Enlivening the Self.

Using focus group results to inform preschool childhood obesity prevention programming.

Objective: This study about maternal feeding practices and beliefs was conducted as background for the development of a childhood obesity prevention program for multi-ethnic parents in the USA receiving services from a federal government supplemental nutrition program for low-income mothers.

Design: Using a grounded theory approach, focus groups were conducted with low-income African American, white non-Hispanic (i.e.

Distance art groups for women with breast cancer: guidelines and recommendations.

To overcome barriers that prevent women with breast cancer from attending support groups, innovative formats and modes of delivery both need to be considered. The present study was part of an interdisciplinary program of research in which researchers from counseling psychology, psycho-oncology, nursing, computer science, and fine arts have explored art making as an innovative format and telehealth as a mode of delivery. For this study, we conducted focus groups and interviews with 25 people with expertise about breast cancer, art, art therapy, and distance delivery of mental health services to generate guidelines for distance art-based psychosocial support services to women with breast cancer.

Exploring the role of complementary and alternative medicine in public health practice and training.

Objectives: Consumer use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States continues to expand. Although conventional medicine has responded actively, the response from public health has been far less pronounced. To examine the potential for integrating CAM into public health contexts, an exploratory survey was conducted.

Considering 'meaning' in the context of breast cancer.

In this article, we show that a psychological view of global and situational meanings is inadequate for understanding meaning making in the context of breast cancer. We outline research that has illuminated breast cancer meanings that differ from standard illness meanings and we highlight impediments to meaning making for women with breast cancer. We conclude that it is less helpful to promote a particular kind of illness meaning for women with breast cancer than to: (a) create conditions that women with breast cancer have said are conducive to meaning making; (b) accept and acknowledge meanings that women with breast cancer themselves find valuable; and (c) actively work to change dominant discourses that constrain meaning making for women with breast cancer.

Breast cancer and problems with medical interactions: relationships with traumatic stress, emotional self-efficacy, and social support.

This investigation examined relationships between breast cancer patients' psychosocial characteristics (impact of the illness, traumatic stress symptoms, emotional self-efficacy, and social support) and problems they perceived in their medical interactions and their satisfaction with their physicians. Participants were 352 women enrolled in a multicenter trial of the effects of group therapy for women with recently diagnosed primary breast cancer. The findings reported here are from a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data gathered prior to randomization.