Virtual Group Therapy for Cancer

Overseen By Clinical Trials Referral Office

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Mayo Clinic

Disqualifiers: Suicidal intent, Psychotic symptoms, Personality disorder, Cognitive impairments, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 7

Duration: 6 weeks

200 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to determine if virtual group therapy can improve the mental well-being of people with cancer. It focuses on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, which may increase compassion and flexibility while reducing stress. The trial targets adults diagnosed with cancer who feel stressed or face challenges related to their condition. Participants will attend weekly online group therapy sessions for six weeks to assess if this treatment eases their cancer journey. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity for patients to explore innovative therapy methods that could enhance their quality of life.

Do I need to stop my current medications for the trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It seems focused on virtual group therapy, so it's likely you can continue your medications, but you should confirm with the trial organizers.

What prior data suggests that this virtual group therapy is safe for cancer patients?

A previous study showed that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps cancer patients manage pain and anxiety related to their disease. Research indicates that ACT effectively reduces the fear of cancer recurrence compared to groups not receiving this therapy. No major reports of negative side effects suggest it is well-tolerated by patients. This therapy focuses on improving mental well-being, which may help individuals better handle the challenges of living with cancer. Overall, ACT appears to be a safe option for those seeking to improve their mental health while dealing with cancer. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for cancer patients because it offers a unique approach to mental health care. Unlike traditional talk therapies that often focus on changing negative thoughts and feelings, ACT encourages patients to accept their thoughts and feelings and commit to actions aligned with their values. This method can empower cancer patients to better manage stress and improve their quality of life without the need for medication. Additionally, the virtual group therapy format makes it more accessible, allowing patients to receive support from the comfort of their own homes, which is especially beneficial for those with mobility challenges or busy treatment schedules.

What evidence suggests that virtual group therapy is effective for improving psychological wellbeing in cancer patients?

Research has shown that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), delivered through virtual group therapy sessions in this trial, can improve mental wellbeing in people with cancer. Studies have found that ACT lowers anxiety, depression, and overall emotional distress. It also enhances quality of life and helps individuals adapt to change and stress. For cancer survivors, ACT has proven especially helpful in managing fear, uncertainty, and pain related to the disease. These findings suggest that ACT serves as a valuable tool for improving emotional health during the cancer journey. ^{3 4 6 7 8}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Chun Tao, PhD, LP

Principal Investigator

Mayo Clinic

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for cancer patients seeking to improve their psychological wellbeing. It's open to those experiencing distress or a decreased quality of life due to their diagnosis, treatment, or symptoms. Specific eligibility details are not provided but typically include health status and consent.

Inclusion Criteria

I am currently dealing with cancer, receiving treatment, or have finished treatment within the last 2 years.

I am stressed by my cancer and my treatment goals match the group's purpose.

Being a patient of Mayo Clinic Arizona

Exclusion Criteria

Patients' inability to take part in and benefit from the virtual group therapy based on clinical judgment of the psychosocial oncology team member who completes the psychosocial evaluation, which may include having active suicidal or homicidal intent, experiencing uncontrolled psychotic symptoms, having untreated personality disorder/characteristics that are likely disturbing in a group setting, and/or having moderate to severe cognitive impairments

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants attend acceptance and commitment virtual group therapy sessions over 1.5 hours each, once a week for 6 weeks

6 weeks

6 visits (virtual)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for psychological wellbeing improvements 1 month after treatment completion

4 weeks

1 visit (virtual)

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Trial Overview The study examines the effectiveness of virtual group therapies: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Compassion-Based Therapy, in enhancing understanding, compassion, flexibility, and overall mental wellness in cancer patients.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Supportive care (group therapy sessions) Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

Patients attend acceptance and commitment virtual group therapy sessions over 1.5 hours each, once a week for 6 weeks.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Mayo Clinic

Lead Sponsor

Trials

3,427

Recruited

3,221,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

A pilot study involving 25 cancer patients tested an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) group intervention, showing promising results in reducing fear of progression, depression, and psychological inflexibility, while improving psychological health-related quality of life and well-being.

The high adherence rate among participants suggests that the ACT-based intervention is feasible for use in outpatient settings, although further research with randomized controlled trials is needed to confirm its effectiveness.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[Development and Evaluation of an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-Based Group Intervention for Cancer Patients with Psychological Burden]. Sauer, C., Maatouk, I.[2022]

This study is testing the feasibility and acceptability of remotely delivered acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for improving the quality of life in 72 young survivors of childhood brain tumors, aged 11-24, over a 12-week period.

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive ACT immediately or after a 12-week wait, with outcomes measured for physical and mental health, functioning, and quality of life, allowing researchers to assess the effectiveness and durability of the intervention.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Acceptance and commitment therapy for young brain tumour survivors: study protocol for an acceptability and feasibility trial. Malins, S., Owen, R., Wright, I., et al.[2022]

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) significantly increases hope in women with cancer, as shown by a study involving 24 participants who underwent pre-test and post-test assessments.

The research indicates that ACT can enhance psychological flexibility and adaptability in cancer patients, suggesting it may be a beneficial therapeutic approach during treatment.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Life Expectancy of Female Cancer Patients at Tehran's Dehshpour Institute in 2015. Ghasemi, F., Dehghan, F., Farnia, V., et al.[2017]

A 1-day virtual Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) workshop for veterans showed high feasibility with a 97.1% completion rate among 64 participants, indicating strong interest and engagement, especially among rural veterans.

Participants experienced significant improvements in psychological distress, stressor-related distress, community reintegration, and sense of meaning and purpose, suggesting that the workshop may be an effective intervention for enhancing mental health in veterans.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Feasibility of delivering a virtual 1-day acceptance and commitment therapy workshop to rural veterans through community partnerships. Dindo, L., Chaison, A., Rodrigues, M., et al.[2023]

A study involving 203 post-treatment cancer survivors identified three symptom severity classes, revealing that those with higher symptom burdens (like fatigue and anxiety) showed lower levels of mindfulness and acceptance.

The results support the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) model, suggesting that survivors with greater symptom distress are less engaged in meaningful activities and less accepting of their experiences, highlighting the need for further research on ACT's effectiveness in alleviating suffering in this population.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Symptom experiences in post-treatment cancer survivors: associations with acceptance and commitment therapy constructs. Lewson, AB., Johns, SA., Krueger, E., et al.[2022]

The study evaluated 54 recorded sessions of a telephone-based Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention for smoking cessation, finding high adherence (average score of 4.61) and competence (average score of 4.81) among therapists.

The results indicate that ACT can be effectively delivered via telephone, suggesting it could be a valuable method for future research and interventions targeting smoking cessation and other behavioral changes.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Can Acceptance & Commitment Therapy be delivered with fidelity as a brief telephone-intervention? Schimmel-Bristow, A., Bricker, JB., Comstock, B.[2021]

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) effectively enhances psychological flexibility and has shown efficacy in treating a variety of psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety, and PTSD, with a meta-analysis revealing an average effect size of 0.66 at post-treatment across 704 participants.

ACT not only improves mental health outcomes but also benefits other medical areas such as chronic pain management and smoking cessation, demonstrating its versatility and positive impact on quality of life.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

[Acceptance and commitment therapy]. Ducasse, D., Fond, G.[2019]

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) significantly improved emotional approach coping and self-compassion in 134 anxious cancer survivors, leading to reduced anxiety-related symptoms, particularly cancer-related trauma.

The study found that self-compassion and emotional approach coping were key mediators in ACT's effectiveness, suggesting that enhancing these qualities can help alleviate anxiety and fear of cancer recurrence in survivors.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Intervention and mediation effects of target processes in a randomized controlled trial of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for anxious cancer survivors in community oncology clinics. Fishbein, JN., Judd, CM., Genung, S., et al.[2022]

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been shown to significantly reduce anxiety, depression, and fear of cancer recurrence in a systematic review of 13 studies involving 537 cancer survivors.

The review suggests that ACT can improve psychological flexibility and quality of life for cancer survivors, but highlights the need for more rigorous studies to explore its effects on other symptoms like pain and insomnia.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Acceptance and commitment therapy in adult cancer survivors: a systematic review and conceptual model. Mathew, A., Doorenbos, AZ., Jang, MK., et al.[2023]

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been shown to significantly improve quality of life and reduce anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and fatigue in 488 patients with advanced cancer, based on a systematic review of eight studies.

While ACT was effective for various psychological outcomes, it did not significantly relieve psychological flexibility or pain, indicating that its benefits may be more focused on emotional well-being rather than physical symptoms.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for people with advanced cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Fang, P., Tan, L., Cui, J., et al.[2023]

Both Behavioral Activation (BA) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are effective treatments for emotional problems in cancer survivors, as shown in a study of 52 patients, where both therapies outperformed a waiting list control group.

ACT was found to be more effective than BA in reducing social impairment and avoidance/rumination, indicating that these mechanisms play a key role in improving emotional well-being among cancer survivors.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Treating anxiety and depression of cancer survivors: Behavioral activation versus acceptance and commitment therapy. González-Fernández, S., Fernández-Rodríguez, C., Paz-Caballero, MD., et al.[2018]

Citations

1. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1462388925000869

Acceptance and commitment therapy effectiveness for fear ... ACT can effectively reduce FCR, experiential avoidance, and anxiety in cancer survivors, though it did not significantly affect fatigue levels.

2. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12560379/

The effect of acceptance commitment therapy on the mental ... ACT has demonstrated its efficacy for cancer patients by teaching adaptive management of disease-related pain, including uncertainty, anxiety, ...

3. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212144724000905

The effects of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT ... Overall results indicate that ACT interventions reduce psychological distress, depression and anxiety, and increase HRQoL. Efficacy relating to other outcome ...

4. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36534441/

Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for ... The results showed significant effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on the improvement of quality of life and the alleviation of anxiety, depression, ...

5. frontiersin.org frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1253266/full

a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized ... The results revealed that ACT significantly reduced psychological distress levels and improved psychological flexibility in postintervention ...

6. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03910296

NCT03910296 | Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) The purpose of this research study is to develop a psychological treatment for patients with cancer, focused on the psychological symptoms they experience ...

7. frontiersin.org frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.871929/full

Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial This study aims to assess the efficacy of a combined intervention (face-to face ACT + app) for psychological flexibility and associated symptoms in cancer ...

8. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11554193/

Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ... This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of ACT in promoting disease acceptance among breast cancer patients through a randomized controlled trial.