Stress management or post-traumatic growth facilitation to diminish distress in cancer survivors? a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT

This randomized controlled trial compared the efficacy of cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) and positive psychotherapy in cancer (PPC) to reduce post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and distress, and to promote post-traumatic growth (PTG) in cancer survivors. Participants were 140 adult women randomly allocated to CBSM (n = 73) or PPC (n = 67). PTSS, distress, and PTG were assessed at pre- and post-intervention, and at 3- and 12–month follow-ups. Analysis showed PPC was more effective in decreasing PTSS (b= −7.61, p<.001) and distress (b= −3.66; p<.001) than CBSM, but neither therapy significantly increased PTG (b= 0.77, p = .76). The relational veracity of PTG and its role predicting reduced PTSS was observed only in the PPC arm. In conclusion, PPC appears to be a valid therapeutic option for assimilating and accommodating the experience of cancer after treatment completion.

KEYWORDS:

• Cancer
• psychotherapy
• post-traumatic growth
• post-traumatic stress
• distress

Acknowledgments

We thank all the patients and their relatives for their participation in this study, and CERCA Program for institutional support.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Supplementary materials

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III under grant FIS PI15/01278, co-funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) ‘a way to build Europe’; Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities under grant PGC2018-100675-B-I00; and Catalan Government under grant 2017SGR00735.