Psychological response to long term group therapy: A randomized trial withmetastatic breast cancer patients

Research has demonstrated that short term psychological interventions impro ve the quality of life of cancer patients. However, there is much less evid ence for the efficacy of longer term interventions. We report the psychomet ric results from a randomized clinical trial (n=66) assessing the effects o f an 8 month, weekly psychological intervention on 30 metastatic breast can cer patients. Subjects were assessed at baseline, 4, 8 and 14 months for mo od, quality of life and adjustment to cancer. Results demonstrated little p sychometric difference between the control (n = 36) and intervention groups over this length of time, in spite of the fact that when the intervention subjects attended a weekend of support and training in coping skills, the u sual significant, short term changes were observed. In the long term interv ention, subjects did experience more anxious preoccupation and less helples sness than the controls but no recorded improvements in mood or quality of life. However, profound clinical changes were observed by the therapists, s imilar to those noted by Spiegel ct al. (1981). We conclude that many of th e psychological changes made by subjects in longer term interventions may e lude conventional psychometric assessment. Further research, of a rigorous qualitative nature, is required to develop a clearer understanding of the e xperience of living and eventually dying of cancer within the context of a long term intervention. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.