ABSTRACT

Objectives: This study aimed to (1) investigate the effectiveness of short-term integrative counselling on the psychological well-being of adult patients with cancer and (2) explore their reported experience of receiving integrative counselling. Design: A mixed-methods embedded design was used to compare psychological well-being in two groups of patients with cancer; one group (n = 15) received 6–9 weekly, hour-long sessions of integrative counselling, and the other group (n = 16) were on the wait list. Methods: Pre and post-intervention symptoms of anxiety, symptoms of depression and levels of self-esteem were measured using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The counselling group also answered an open-ended qualitative question with the posttest measures about changes they experienced through having had counselling. Results: In the counselling group, there were substantial and statistically significant improvements in symptoms of anxiety, symptoms of depression, and levels of self-esteem. No significant changes were observed in the wait list group. Three themes of change experienced through counselling were identified in the qualitative data: Acceptance, Self-Awareness, and Moving Forward. Conclusion: Short-term integrative counselling is an effective therapeutic intervention for improving psychological well-being in adult patients with cancer.

摘要

目的：本研究旨在 (1) 调查短期综合咨询对成年癌症患者心理健康的有效性，以及 (2) 探讨他们报告的接受综合咨询的经验。设计：采用混合方法嵌入式设计来比较两组癌症患者的心理健康状况；一组（n = 15）每周接受 6-9 小时的综合咨询，另一组（n = 16）在等待名单上。方法：使用医院焦虑和抑郁量表和罗森伯格自尊量表测量干预前后的焦虑症状、抑郁症状和自尊水平。咨询小组还通过关于他们通过咨询经历的变化的后测测量回答了一个开放式的定性问题。结果：在咨询组中，焦虑症状、抑郁症状和自尊水平有显着改善，具有统计学意义。候补名单组未观察到显着变化。在定性数据中确定了通过咨询经历的三个变化主题：接受、自我意识和前进。结论：短期综合咨询是一种有效的治疗干预措施，可改善成年癌症患者的心理健康。