A Study of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Caregivers to People With Cancer

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorIcahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

About this trial

Participants will complete 1 set of questionnaires about 2 weeks before beginning their Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Caregivers/MCP-C or standard Supportive Psychotherapy for Caregivers/SP-C sessions. These questionnaires will ask about participants' sense of meaning and purpose in life, spiritual well-being, depression and/or anxiety, and social support. Participants will then be assigned to receive either MCP-C or SP-C for 7 sessions. Participants will complete additional sets of questionnaires about 2 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after their last session of MCP-C or SP-C. It will take between 35 and 50 minutes to complete each set of questionnaires.

After participants complete the MCP-C or SP-C sessions and all 4 sets of questionnaires, their participation in this study will end. If participants decide not to complete all 7 sessions, they may still choose to complete the questionnaires.

Participants may remain in the study and continue to receive all 7 sessions of MCP-C or SP-C even if their loved one passes away.

Eligibility criteria

Qualifiers

Age 18 or over;

As per self-report, a current caregiver to a patient with Stage III or IV solid tumor cancer currently receiving medical care of any kind (e.g., curative, palliative);

Experiences distress as evidenced by a score of 4 or greater on the Distress Thermometer (DT) and an indication that this distress is associated with caregiving;

As per self-report, can read and understand English;

Disqualifiers

Participant does not have a reasonable understanding of the study activities by the judgment of the consenting professional;

Engagement in regular individual psychotherapeutic support that the participant is unable or unwilling to put on hold for the course of treatment.

Trial design

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Caregivers
  • Supportive Psychotherapy for Caregivers

Treatment groups

200 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groups

Sponsors and collaborators

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Lead sponsor

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Collaborator

University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

Collaborator