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

Phase 3
Recruiting
Conditions
Caregiver Burden
Caregiver Burnout
Caregiver Stress Syndrome
Interventions
Behavioral: Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Caregivers
Behavioral: Supportive Psychotherapy for Caregivers
Registration Number
NCT06307535
Lead Sponsor
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Brief Summary

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.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
200
Inclusion Criteria
  • 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;
  • As per self-report, residing in New York, New Jersey, or Florida, or have the ability to complete sessions while complying with current telehealth regulations.
Exclusion Criteria
  • 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.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for CaregiversMeaning-Centered Psychotherapy for CaregiversMeaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Caregivers/MCP-C
Supportive Psychotherapy for CaregiversSupportive Psychotherapy for CaregiversSupportive Psychotherapy for Caregivers/SP-C standard of care
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Number of participants with improved primary outcomesUp to 1 year

Evaluate the efficacy of MCP-C versus SP-C in improving primary outcomes (i.e., sense of meaning in life, spiritual well-being) immediately post-treatment and explore maintenance in gains up to 1 year.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (8)

Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Limited Protocol Activities)

🇺🇸

Montvale, New Jersey, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Limited Protocol Activites)

🇺🇸

Rockville Centre, New York, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Limited Protocol Activities)

🇺🇸

Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States

University of Miami (Data Collection AND Data Analysis)

🇺🇸

Miami, Florida, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Limited protocol activities)

🇺🇸

Middletown, New Jersey, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Suffolk-Commack (Limited protocol activity)

🇺🇸

Commack, New York, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Consent only)

🇺🇸

Harrison, New York, United States

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

🇺🇸

New York, New York, United States

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