Alleviating Emotional Distress in a Young Adult Survivor of Adolescent Cancer

Abstract

A substantial proportion of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors experience persistent emotional distress, but little research has evaluated psychological interventions in this population. Metacognitive therapy (MCT), a transdiagnostic intervention, is an effective treatment for depression and a range of anxiety disorders in mental health settings, but its efficacy in cancer populations is unknown. This study used an AB design with 6-month follow-up to evaluate the potential efficacy of MCT for reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress in a young adult female survivor of adolescent leukemia. Clinician-rated and self-report measures demonstrated large, clinically meaningful, improvements on all outcome measures over seven treatment sessions, and these gains were maintained at 6-month follow-up. The case study demonstrates the potential applicability of MCT to treating emotional distress in young adult survivors of childhood cancer.

Keywords

metacognitive therapy cancer survivors young adults emotional distress

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