Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2015 May 12;3(2):263-83.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare3020263.

In Psycho-Spiritual Integrative Therapy for Women with Primary Breast Cancer, What Factors Account for the Benefits? Insights from a Multiple Case Analysis

John Rettger  1 , Kathleen Wall  2 , Diana Corwin  3 , Alexandra N Davidson  4 , David Lukoff  5 , Cheryl Koopman  6
Affiliations
Case Reports

In Psycho-Spiritual Integrative Therapy for Women with Primary Breast Cancer, What Factors Account for the Benefits? Insights from a Multiple Case Analysis

John Rettger et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

This study sought to understand the context in which Psycho-Spiritual Integrative Therapy (PSIT), a group intervention, promotes varying degrees of spiritual growth and quality of life change in breast cancer survivors. A secondary aim was to explore the relationship between spiritual well-being (SWB) and Quality of Life (QL) in PSIT participants. A qualitative, multiple case analysis was undertaken to examine the experiences of two participants with the highest change scores on the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Spiritual Well-Being Scale-Expanded Version (FACIT-Sp-Ex) and two participants with among the lowest change scores on this measure. The participant factors thought to contribute to SWB and QL changes included utilization of metacognitive psychological skills and spiritual/religious frameworks, while PSIT factors included application of PSIT core intervention components, cognitive restructuring, group dynamics, and the role of the facilitator. The nature and extent of participant use of spiritual practices appeared to shape the relationship between SWB and OL. The findings suggest directions for future research to investigate potential moderators and mediators of treatment efficacy of PSIT specifically, as well as other psycho-spiritual interventions for cancer survivors more generally.

Keywords: breast cancer; group intervention; integrative cancer care; mindfulness; quality of life; spiritual well-being; spirituality.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. ACS Cancer treatment and survivorship facts and figures 2014–2015. [(accessed on 5 January 2015)]. Available online: http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@research/documents/document/ac....
    1. Zabora J., BrintzenhofeSzoc K., Curbow B., Hooker C., Piantadosi S. The prevalence of psychological distress by cancer site. Psycho-Oncology. 2001;10:19–28. - PubMed
    1. Mitchell A.J., Chan M., Bhatti H., Halton M., Grassi L., Johansen C., Meader N. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder in oncological, haematological, and palliative-care settings: A meta-analysis of 94 interview-based studies. Lancet Oncol. 2011;12:160–174. doi: 10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70002-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lo C., Hales S., Jung J., Chiu A., Panday T., Rydall A., Nissim R., Malfitano C., Petricone-Westwood D., Camilla Zimmermann C., et al. Managing cancer and living meaningfully (calm): Phase 2 trial of a brief individual psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer. Palliat. Med. 2014;28:234–242. doi: 10.1177/0269216313507757. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jafari N. The effect of spiritual therapy for improving the quality of life of women with breast cancer: A randomized control trial. Psychol. Health Med. 2013;18:56–69. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2012.679738. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources