Enhancing women's lives: The role of support groups among breast cancer patients

Abstract

Two decades of research indicate that group psychotherapy is an effective adjunctive therapy to medical treatment for women with breast cancer. Group therapy has been effective at reducing mood disturbance, improving quality of life, enhancing physiological functioning, and increasing survival time. In particular, Supportive-Expressive group psychotherapy has been effective in assisting breast cancer patients in reducing anxiety related to death and dying, strengthening interpersonal relationships, and improving the quality of life. In this article, the literature on group effectiveness is reviewed, the components of an empirically validated group treatment for breast cancer patients are described, and implications for group leaders are discussed.