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Supportive–expressive group therapy for primary breast cancer patients: a randomized prospective multicenter trial
Author(s) -
Classen Catherine C.,
Kraemer Helena C.,
Blasey Christine,
GieseDavis Janine,
Koopman Cheryl,
Palesh Oxana Gronskaya,
Atkinson Ami,
DiMiceli Sue,
StonischRiggs Gail,
Westendorp Joan,
Morrow Gary R.,
Spiegel David
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
psycho‐oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.41
H-Index - 137
eISSN - 1099-1611
pISSN - 1057-9249
DOI - 10.1002/pon.1280
Subject(s) - breast cancer , distress , medicine , randomized controlled trial , intervention (counseling) , clinical trial , physical therapy , group psychotherapy , cancer , treatment and control groups , cohort , clinical psychology , psychiatry
Abstract Objective : The aim is to evaluate the effectiveness of a manualized 12‐week supportive–expressive group therapy program among primary breast cancer patients treated in community settings, to determine whether highly distressed patients were most likely to benefit and whether therapist's training or experience was related to outcome. Method : Three hundred and fifty‐three women within one year of diagnosis with primary breast cancer were randomly assigned to receive supportive–expressive group therapy or to an education control condition. Participants were recruited from two academic centers and nine oncology practices, which were members of NCI's Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) and were followed over 2 years. Results : A 2×2×19 analysis of variance was conducted with main effects of treatment condition, cohort, and baseline distress and their interactions. There was no main effect for treatment condition after removing one subject with an extreme score. Highly distressed women did not derive a greater benefit from treatment. Therapist training and psychotherapy experience were not associated with a treatment effect. Conclusions : This study provides no evidence of reduction in distress as the result of a brief supportive–expressive intervention for women with primary breast cancer. Future studies might productively focus on women with higher initial levels of distress. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.