scholarly journals Feasibility and acceptability of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) or acupuncture for insomnia and related distress among cancer caregivers

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 644-647
Author(s):  
Allison J. Applebaum ◽  
Kara Buda ◽  
Michael A. Hoyt ◽  
Kelly Shaffer ◽  
Sheila Garland ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveInsomnia is a common, distressing, and impairing psychological outcome experienced by informal caregivers (ICs) of patients with cancer. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and acupuncture both have known benefits for patients with cancer, but such benefits have yet to be evaluated among ICs. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of CBT-I and acupuncture among ICs with moderate or greater levels of insomnia.MethodParticipants were randomized to eight sessions of CBT-I or ten sessions of acupuncture.ResultsResults highlighted challenges of identifying interested and eligible ICs and the impact of perception of intervention on retention and likely ultimately outcome.Significance of the resultsFindings suggest preliminary support for non-pharmacological interventions to treat insomnia in ICs and emphasize the importance of matching treatment modality to the preferences and needs of ICs.

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ieva Biliunaite ◽  
Evaldas Kazlauskas ◽  
Robbert Sanderman ◽  
Gerhard Andersson

Background: Informal caregivers are individuals who provide care for ill, frail, or otherwise dependent family members, siblings, or friends. Due to the caregiving demands, informal caregivers are known to experience negative mental health symptoms, such as stress or anxiety. Interventions based on Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (ICBT) principles have been previously found to be effective for different populations and could also be considered as a plausible support option for informal caregivers. However, findings regarding effectiveness alone might not be sufficient for informing about the overall feasibility of the intervention.Objective: The aim of this process evaluation study was to evaluate the feasibility of a previously developed ICBT intervention for informal caregivers in Lithuania. More specifically, we evaluated the suitability of the intervention in relation to its content and delivery mode.Methods: Two studies were conducted. Study 1 consisted of participant evaluations of an 8-week, 8-module long therapist supported ICBT intervention. Evaluations for the Study 1 were retrieved from previously unused data, obtained from pilot testing of the intervention in which 63 informal caregivers took part. The evaluations contained of qualitative data (participant comments), as well as quantitative data (evaluations of each of the sessions). The Study 2 was an online stakeholder focus-group discussion conducted via Zoom. Eight stakeholders took part in the discussion, among whom there were social workers, medical professionals as well as individuals with caregiving experience themselves. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, thematic analysis, and data coding.Results: Results of the Study 1 showed that most of the pilot randomized controlled trial participants evaluated content and format of the intervention positively. These results were complemented by the findings in the Study 2, in which stakeholders evaluated the intervention as suitable and promising. In addition, stakeholders made certain suggestions for improving the intervention's usability for the informal caregivers. This included improving the instructions, providing with more guidance, and considering personalization options.Conclusion: The process evaluation helped to evaluate the feasibility of the ICBT intervention for informal caregivers in Lithuania from the two perspectives: users and stakeholders. Our findings suggest that the intervention is suitable for the target population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-123
Author(s):  
Katie L. Merricks ◽  
Joshua M. Nadeau ◽  
Amaya Ramos ◽  
Eric A. Storch

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with exposure and response prevention (ERP) has proven to be an effective treatment modality for children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Less research exists demonstrating efficacy for this treatment modality among children with comorbid diagnoses of OCD and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and virtually, nothing has been reported examining intensive interventions for the most severe cases. As such, this article discusses the treatment of an adolescent male with severe OCD comorbid with ASD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and chronic tic disorder using a cognitive behavioral approach and ERP. We conclude with recommendations for continued clinical research to understand approaches to help nonresponders to standard therapeutic approaches with this challenging population.


10.2196/21466 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. e21466
Author(s):  
Ieva Biliunaite ◽  
Evaldas Kazlauskas ◽  
Robbert Sanderman ◽  
Inga Truskauskaite-Kuneviciene ◽  
Austeja Dumarkaite ◽  
...  

Background Caregiving for a family member can result in reduced well-being for the caregiver. Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) may be one way to support this population. This is especially the case for caregivers in countries with limited resources, but high demand for psychological services. Objective In this study we evaluated the effects of a therapist-guided 8-week-long ICBT intervention for informal caregivers. Methods In total, 63 participants were recruited online and randomized either to the intervention or to the wait-list control group. The main study outcome was the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI). Secondary outcomes included measures of caregiver depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life. Results Moderate between-group effect sizes were observed for the CBI measure, in favor of the intervention group, with a Cohen d=–0.70 for the intention-to-treat analysis. Analyses of the subscales of the CBI showed significant reductions on the subscales of Development and Physical Health. Moderate reductions were found for depression and anxiety scores as indicated by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scores. Large between-group effects were observed for reduction in stress and increase in quality of life as indicated by the Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS-14), The Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale (BBQ), and The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). In addition, participants experienced little to no difficulty in using the program and were mostly satisfied with the intervention’s platform and the choice of content. Conclusions This is the first internet intervention study for informal caregivers in Lithuania. The results suggest that therapist-guided ICBT can be effective in reducing caregiver burden, anxiety, depression, stress, and improving quality of life. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04052724; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04052724


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehryar Anasseri

Background: Depression and anxiety as the most common psychiatric problems in survivors of traumatic events pose a significant burden on health systems and families. Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the impact of group cognitive-behavioral therapy on the anxiety and depression of war veterans. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test and a control group. The statistical population included all men with war disabilities who visited Sadra Psychiatric Hospital in Tehran. By convenience and purposive sampling, 116 people were selected and randomly assigned to two groups. Therapeutic interventions (group cognitive-behavioral therapy and Jacobsen's progressive muscle relaxation technique) were applied to each group for 12 sessions, 2 sessions per week and 2 sessions each. Beck’s Depression Scale (Beck, 1961) and Spielberger’s Anxiety Scale (Spielberger, 1970) were used to collect the data. Data was analyzed using analysis of covariance. Results: The mean scores of anxiety and depression in the post-test phase decreased compared to the pre-test phase (P < 0.05). Therefore, group cognitive-behavioral therapy improved the psychological symptoms of the participants. Conclusions: Cognitive-behavioral therapy improved cognitive flexibility and diminished anxiety-depression symptoms in war veterans; thus, it can be considered a useful treatment strategy to improve the psychological status of war veterans.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Dwi Fitriyanti ◽  
Mardiyono Mardiyono ◽  
Yuriz Bakhtiar

<em>The highest cancers in Indonesia in women are breast cancer and cervical cancer. Both are the most common cancers in women and the highest cause of death in women. Some woman patients with newly diagnosed of breast cancer or cervical cancer will experience depression. most patients newly diagnosed with cancer, less than 6 months reported a feeling of depression of 91.4%. An effective intervention to reduce the level of depression is to provide cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) interventions. CBT is a psychotherapy recommended for treating depression in patients with breast cancer and cervical cancer. The objective of this study to review the effects of CBT on decreasing depression in woman patients with cancer including cervical cancer and breast cancer. This study is a systematic review. We search articles from EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, Pubmed, and Science Direct database which published from 2008 till 2018. RCTs are included in this review. Four RCTs included in this study. CBT interventions are carried out differently for each article, in general, each session is given for 60-90 minutes with a different number of sessions. Outcome measured in 3 articles was more than one variable (not only depression) and one article only measured the level of depression. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be used for woman patients with breast cancer and cervical cancer who are depressed. Future research to the effectiveness of CBT in reducing depression in woman patients specifically in newly diagnosed with cervical cancer is needed to confirm the evidence</em>


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mats Westas ◽  
Ghassan Mourad ◽  
Gerhard Andersson ◽  
Margit Neher ◽  
Johan Lundgren ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Depression in cardiovascular disease (CVD) is associated with poor outcomes and there is a treatment gap of depression in CVD patients. Recently we found that an Internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) tailored for CVD patients led to reduced symptoms of depression. However, we still have little knowledge about CVD patients’ experiences of working with iCBT. The aim of this study was therefore to explore CVD patients experience of engaging with a tailored iCBT program. Methods A qualitative interview study using inductive thematic analysis. Data was obtained from 20 patients with CVD and depressive symptoms who had participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluating the impact of a nine-week iCBT program on depression. Results Three main themes emerged: (1) Taking control of the disease, (2) Not just a walk in the park, and (3) Feeling a personal engagement with the iCBT program. The first theme included comments that the tailored program gave the patients a feeling of being active in the treatment process and helped them achieve changes in thoughts and behaviors necessary to take control of their CVD. The second theme showed that patients also experienced the program as demanding and emotionally challenging. However, it was viewed as helpful to challenge negative thinking about living with CVD and to change depressive thoughts. In the third theme patients reported that the structure inherent in the program, in the form of organizing their own health and the scheduled feedback from the therapist created a feeling of being seen as an individual. The feeling of being acknowledged as a person also made it easier to continuously work with the changes necessary to improve their health. Conclusions Engaging in an iCBT program tailored for patients with CVD and depression was by the patients perceived as helpful in the treatment of depression. They experienced positive changes in emotions, thoughts, and behaviors which a result of learning to take control of their CVD, being confirmed and getting support. The patients considered working with the iCBT program as demanding and emotionally challenging, but necessary to achieve changes in emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.


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