Therapy for a Healthy Sibling of a Child Diagnosed with Cancer: A Case Study

Abstract

This article presents a case study for skills-directed intervention aiming to help healthy siblings of children with cancer control their emotions and gain self-control skills. Case study application of the intervention was with a boy aged 9 years and 8 months who had the verbal, cognitive, and motivational ability to learn and apply the skills. Intervention included the “Feeling Wheel” to enhance emotional identification, expression, understanding, acceptance, and control. Intervention also focused on teaching him to observe his automatic thoughts, change them to mediated ones, engage in internal dialogue, and seek/adopt alternative behaviors to gain self-control. In postintervention feedback, he reported less anxiety than previously, less inclination toward negative thinking, and more empowerment to deal with day-to-day difficulties he encountered.

KEYWORDS:

• childhood cancer
• healthy sibling
• emotions
• self-control
• skills-directed therapy
• case study

The author would like to thank Dee B. Ankonina for her editorial assistance.