Exploratory Controlled Study of the Impact of a Hypnosis-Based Intervention on the Couple’s Communication and Coping in the Context of Cancer

ABSTRACT

Emotional distress, communication, and dyadic coping difficulties are common among cancer patients and their partners. Hypnosis-based interventions can improve emotional distress in patients. We designed a group intervention combining self-hypnosis and self-care techniques. We hypothesized an effect of the intervention on emotional distress, conjugal communication, and dyadic coping, considered in patients and their partners. Our exploratory controlled study included 55 women with cancer and 55 partners. Participants completed questionnaires before and after the intervention, which was delivered to patients only. No significant effect of the intervention was revealed for patients or partners. Positive correlations between patients’ and partners’ communication and dyadic coping were revealed. However, to address couples’ or partners’ difficulties, interventions specifically designed for couples or partners must be tested.

Charlotte Grégoire, Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville, Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, Vanessa Charland-Verville, Guy Jerusalem, Sylvie Willems, und Isabelle Bragard

Zusammenfassung: Emotionaler Stress und Schwierigkeiten in Kommunikation und Coping sind üblich unter Krebspatient*innen und deren Partner*innen. Auf Hypnose gründende Interventionen können den emotionalen Stress der Patient*innen lindern. Wir entwickelten eine Gruppenintervention und kombinierten Selbsthypnose und Techniken der Selbstfürsorge. Unsere Hypothesen bezog sich auf eine Wirkung der Intervention auf den emotionalen Stress, die Kommunikation der Partner*innen und das gemeinsame Coping, sowohl bei den Patient*innen als auch bei deren Partner*innen. Unsere explorative kontrollierte Untersuchung umfasste 55 krebskranke Frauen und 55 Partner*innen. Die Teilnehmenden füllten vor und nach der Intervention, an welcher lediglich die Patientinnen teilnahmen, Fragebögen aus. Es ergab sich kein signifikanter Effekt der Intervention, weder für die Patientinnen noch für deren Partner*innen. Für die partnerschaftliche Kommunikation und deren Coping zeigten sich bei Patientinnen und Partnern positive Korrelationen. Indessen müssen speziell für Paare oder Partner*innen entwickelte Interventionen getestet werden, um die Paar- und Partnerschaftsschwierigkeiten anzugehen.

Alida Iost-Peter

Dipl.-Psych.

Charlotte Grégoire, Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville, Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, Vanessa Charland-Verville, Guy Jerusalem, Sylvie Willems, et Isabelle Bragard

Résumé: La détresse émotionnelle, la communication et les difficultés d’adaptation dyadiques sont corantos chez les patients atteints de cancer et leurs partenaires. Les interventions basées sur l’hypnose peuvent améliorer la détresse émotionnelle des patients. Nous avons conçu une intervention de groupe combinant l’auto-hypnose et les techniques d’auto-soins. Nous avons émis l’hypothèse d’un effet de l’intervention sur la détresse émotionnelle, la communication conjugale et l’adaptation dyadique, chez les patients et leurs partenaires. Notre étude exploratoire contrôlée a inclus 55 femmes atteintes de cancer et 55 partenaires. Les participants ont rempli des questionnaires avant et après l’intervention, qui a été effectuée sur les patients uniquement. Aucun effet significatif de l’intervention n’a été mis en évidence chez les patients ou les partenaires. Des corrélations positives sur la communication des patients et des partenaires et l’adaptation dyadique ont été mises en évidence. Cependant, pour faire face aux difficultés des couples ou des partenaires, des interventions spécialement conçues pour les couples ou partenaires doivent être testées.

Gerard Fitoussi, M.D.

Président-Elect of the European Society of Hypnosis

Charlotte Grégoire, Marie-Elisabeth Faymonville, Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse, Vanessa Charland-Verville, Guy Jerusalem, Sylvie Willems, y Isabelle Bragard

Resumen: La tensión emocional y las dificultades de comunicación y afrontamiento diádico son comunes entre pacientes con cáncer y sus parejas. Las intervenciones basadas en hipnosis pueden mejorar la tensión emocional en pacientes. Diseñamos una intervención grupal combinando autohipnosis y técnicas de autocuidado. Hipotetizamos que la intervención surtiría efecto en la tensión emocional, comunicación conyugal, afrontamiento diádico tanto en pacientes como en sus parejas. Nuestro estudio exploratorio controlado incluyó 55 mujeres con cáncer y sus 55 parejas. Los participantes completaron cuestionarios antes y después de la intervención, que solo fue administrada a los pacientes. No se encontró ningún efecto de la intervención en los pacientes o sus parejas. Se encontraron correlaciones positivas entre la comunicación de pacientes y parejas y el afrontamiento diádico. Sin embargo, para abordar problemáticas de pareja o de la pareja, se deben evaluar intervenciones diseñadas específicamente para este propósito.

Omar Sánchez-Armáss Cappello

Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi, Mexico

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the patients who participated and will participate in the study. We also thank our collaborators from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Darius Razavi, Isabelle Merckaert, France Delevallez and Pauline Waroquier, and all the health professionals working in the CHU of Liège who help us to recruit the participants needed for our study.

Authors’ Contributions

CG participated in the conception and design of the study, collecting and analyzing the data, and drafting the manuscript. IB participated in the conception and design of the study, and in drafting the manuscript. AV, VC, GJ, and MEF participated in the conception and design of the study, and in revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content. SW participated in revising the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Disclosure Statement

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03144154). Retrospectively registered on the 1st of May 2017.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Liège in Belgium (N°B707201630321), with each participant providing written consent. All modifications in the protocol will be transmitted to the Ethics Board.

Availability of Data and Material

The full protocol and dataset of this study are available upon request. Please contact the corresponding author ([email protected]).

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the King Baudouin Foundation [grant 2016-J5120580-205427], the Plan National Cancer of Belgium [Grant Number 138], the Belgian National Funds for Scientific Research [FRS-FNRS], the Belgian Benoit Foundation, and the Belgian Cancer Foundation. These funds financed the different researchers involved in this study. The funding body had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and in writing the manuscript.