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Breast cancer is associated with adverse physical and psychological consequences. Although research has identified the various benefits linked to psychosocial interventions, mixed results have been found in relation to peer support. The aim of the present systematic review and meta‐ethnography is to explore the qualitative evidence on the experience of breast cancer survivors in peer support. A systematic search of the literature was conducted until June 2023, and a meta‐ethnographic approach was used to synthesize the included papers. Eleven articles were included, collecting the experience of 345 participants. The following four core areas involved in peer support implementation were identified from the synthesis: Peer support can create understanding and a mutual therapeutic and emotional connection; peer support can facilitate an educational and supportive patient‐centered journey; peer support should monitor group members for unpleasant emotional experiences; peer support should have professional supervision of recruitment and training to prioritize quality. These results can be used as patient‐centered insights by healthcare professionals to provide evidence‐informed peer support programs and address current limitations in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the burden associated to depression, current standards of care are still limited in scope and effectiveness. In addition, therapy outcomes have frequently focused solely on symptoms, leaving patients' wellbeing relatively unaddressed. The objective of this study was to test whether two cognitive therapies increased subjective wellbeing in a sample of adults diagnosed with a depressive disorder, additionally assessing the relationship between this growth and decreases in both depression severity and psychological distress. Data from 116 participants from a randomised controlled trial comparing the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy and dilemma-focused therapy were analysed. Multilevel linear models were employed, together with correlational analyses. Results showed that both interventions significantly improved wellbeing with moderate to large effect sizes, while no significant differences were found between treatments. In turn, the increase in wellbeing was significantly associated to improvements in depression severity and psychological distress. This study sheds light on the complex relationship between happiness and depression, supporting their conceptualisation as related yet independent human experiences, and strengthening subjective wellbeing as a useful outcome for psychological research. Psychotherapy is presented as an effective intervention to enhance wellbeing, even among individuals with severe depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This randomized controlled trial compared the efficacy of cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) and positive psychotherapy in cancer (PPC) to reduce post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and distress, and to promote post-traumatic growth (PTG) in cancer survivors. Participants were 140 adult women randomly allocated to CBSM (n = 73) or PPC (n = 67). PTSS, distress, and PTG were assessed at pre- and post-intervention, and at 3- and 12–month follow-ups. Analysis showed PPC was more effective in decreasing PTSS (b= −7.61, p<.001) and distress (b= −3.66; p<.001) than CBSM, but neither therapy significantly increased PTG (b= 0.77, p =.76). The relational veracity of PTG and its role predicting reduced PTSS was observed only in the PPC arm. In conclusion, PPC appears to be a valid therapeutic option for assimilating and accommodating the experience of cancer after treatment completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a debilitating syndrome, more prevalent in women, which is aggravated by the presence of depressive symptoms. In the last decade, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has demonstrated to reduce such depressive symptoms and pain in these patients, but there are still a considerable number of them who do not respond to interventions. The complexity of the disorder requires the consideration of the unique psychological characteristics of each patient to attain good outcomes. One approach that could accomplish this goal might be personal construct therapy (PCT), an idiographic approach that considers identity features and interpersonal meanings as their main target of intervention. Then, the aim of the study is to test the efficacy of PCT as compared to a well-established treatment in the reduction of depressive symptoms in women with fibromyalgia. Methods and Analysis: This is a multicenter randomized controlled trial. In each condition participants will attend up to eighteen 1-hr weekly therapy sessions and up to three 1-hr booster sessions during the following 3– 5 months after the end of treatment. The depression subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D) will be the primary outcome measure and it will be assessed at baseline, at the end of therapy, and at 6-month follow-up. Other secondary measures will be applied following the same schedule. Participants will be 18- to 70-years-old women with a diagnosis of FM, presenting depressive symptoms evinced by scores above seven in depression items of the HADS-D. Intention-to-treat and complete case analyses will be performed for the main statistical tests. Linear mixed models will be used to analyze and to compare the treatment effects of both conditions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02711020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Given the increasing prevalence of mental health problems in the general population, it is indispensable to use assessment tools aimed to assess the outcome of therapeutic interventions in order to refine the process of psychological rehabilitation. Method. We describe the process of adaptation into Spanish and a first psychometric study of the young Person's- Clinical outcomes in Routine Evaluation (YP-CORE), an instrument designed to measure the outcome in terms of general distress of therapeutic interventions in young people (11-16 years). 104 adolescents participated in the clinical and 131 in the non-clinical samples. Results. Analyses showed good levels of acceptability, adequate internal consistency and acceptable test-retest stability, with moderately high correlations between administrations. In addition, the instrument yielded significant correlations with all dimensions of the youth Self Report, the highest being between both total scores. Crucially, discriminated between clinical and non-clinical samples and showed a small effect of age but a larger effect of gender, with higher scores for females. The Principal Component Analysis replicates the original structure. Cut-off scores to calculate the reliable and clinically significant change are provided. Conclusions. These results support initial use of the instrument though there are certain limitations that indicate the need for more research with larger and more representative samples, in which the psychometric properties of the instrument should be verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Given the increasing prevalence of mental health problems in the general population, it is indispensable to use assessment tools aimed to assess the outcome of therapeutic interventions in order to refine the process of psychological rehabilitation., Method: We describe the process of adaptation into Spanish and a first psychometric study of the Young Person's- Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (YP-CORE), an instrument designed to measure the outcome in terms of general distress of therapeutic interventions in young people (11-16 years). 104 adolescents participated in the clinical and 131 in the non-clinical samples., Results: Analyses showed good levels of acceptability, adequate internal consistency and acceptable test-retest stability, with moderately high correlations between administrations. In addition, the instrument yielded significant correlations with all dimensions of the Youth Self Report, the highest being between both total scores. Crucially, discriminated between clinical and non-clinical samples and showed a small effect of age but a larger effect of gender, with higher scores for females. The Principal Component Analysis replicates the original structure. Cut-off scores to calculate the reliable and clinically significant change are provided., Conclusions: These results support initial use of the instrument though there are certain limitations that indicate the need for more research with larger and more representative samples, in which the psychometric properties of the instrument should be verified.