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Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers (MCP-C): Rationale and Overview

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2015

Allison J. Applebaum ,
Julia R. Kulikowski  and
William Breitbart
Allison J. Applebaum*
Affiliation:
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
Julia R. Kulikowski
Affiliation:
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
William Breitbart
Affiliation:
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Allison J. Applebaum, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 641 Lexington Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10022. E-mail: applebaa@mskcc.org
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Abstract

Objective:

The multidimensional burden that results from providing care to a patient with cancer is well documented and a growing number of psychosocial interventions have been developed to address this burden. None, however, target existential distress, a critical, common element — and potentially driving mechanism — of caregiver burden. Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (MCP) is a structured psychotherapeutic intervention originally developed by our group to target existential distress and spiritual well-being among patients with advanced cancer. We are currently developing Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers (MCP-C). The objective of this qualitative study is to describe the application of MCP to the unique experience of caregivers of patients with advanced cancer.

Methods:

A case study of a participant from an initial MCP-C group is presented, with a focus on the application of sources of meaning to the cancer caregiving experience.

Results:

The exploration of critical sources of meaning in the participant's life generally, and related to caregiving specifically, highlighted significant areas of growth, including an increased understanding of the historical context shaping her experience of providing care, the recognition of the need for improved self-care and reconnecting with meaningful activities, and the possibility for continued connectedness to others and the world, despite the limitations resulting from her husband's terminal illness.

Significance of results:

Existential distress is a critical and often overlooked element of burden among cancer caregivers. MCP-C is intended to target this component of burden and address this critical gap in the palliative care literature. Clinical trials are underway to evaluate the efficacy of MCP-C delivered over the Internet. Future studies are needed to evaluate the benefits of MCP-C for particularly burdened groups of caregivers, such as caregivers of patients with brain tumors and those undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantations, and to identify target points of delivery that will optimize the intervention's benefits.

Keywords

Caregivercancermeaningtherapyexistential
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 6 , December 2015 , pp. 1631 - 1641
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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