| Cancer is a stressful experience during all phases of diagnosis and treatment (Glanz & Lerman, 1992; Meyerowitz, 1980; Strain, 1998). Psychological interventions have become an important facet of cancer treatment for many patients, and have been shown to have positive effects on psychological variables such as mood, adjustment, and pain (Trijsberg, van Knippenberg, & Rijpma, 1992; Fawzy, Fawzy, Arndt, & Pasnau, 1995; Andersen, 1992). Beyond global questions of effectiveness, however, the more specific issue of which treatment elements account for these positive results is largely unknown.; Supportive-Expressive Group Therapy is a psychological intervention that has been shown to be beneficial for breast cancer patients (Spiegel & Yalom, 1978; Spiegel, Bloom, & Yalom, 1981; Classen et al., 1999). This study evaluated how the expression of existential themes, a key element of Supportive-Expressive Group Therapy, is related to the outcome of change in mood disturbance for women with primary breast cancer.; It was hypothesized that an increased depth of expression of existential concerns would be associated with a greater reduction in mood disturbance over time at the group level. The expression of existential themes was assessed via a measure that was developed using the concepts of existential psychotherapy as provided by Yalom (1980). The mood disturbance measure utilized was the Total Mood Disturbance score of the Profile of Mood States (McNair, Lorr, & Droppleman, 1971).; The results show a moderate positive correlation (p < .05) between the existential theme of death and the change in mood disturbance over time. As such, an increase in the expression of the existential theme of death is significantly associated with less improvement in mood disturbance over time at the group level. A post hoc content analysis suggests that the groups in which death is discussed appear to more frequently utilize lower level defense mechanisms whereas the groups in which death is discussed less frequently appear to more frequently utilize higher level defense mechanisms. As such, further studies investigating the importance of existential themes may benefit by including defense mechanisms in the research design. |
