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Existential Therapy within Palliative Care: Searching for Meaning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2024

F. Cunha*
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
I. Santos
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
N. Castro
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
R. Andrade
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
E. Almeida
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
J. Abreu
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
J. Martins
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
R. Vaz
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
S. Borges
Affiliation:
Centro Hospitalar Tondela-Viseu, Viseu, Portugal
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Irvin D. Yalom defines existential psychotherapy as a dynamic therapeutic approach that focuses on concerns rooted in existence with the four ultimate concerns being death, isolation, meaning in life, and freedom. Patients in advanced stages of cancer often experience elevated levels of psychological distress, encompassing conditions such as depression, anxiety, and a sense of spiritual hopelessness. Recently, interest in spiritual well-being has prompted a new wave of interventions that directly target this population, namely logotherapy and other existential interventions based on existential principles.

Objectives

In this review, the primary focus was to comprehend the current evidence on the application of existential psychotherapy for individuals coping with advanced cancer and give an overview of the therapy approaches used.

Methods

Narrative review of scientific literature using Pubmed search engine.

Results

Terao and Satoh identified nine types of existential psychotherapies which were investigated using randomized controlled trials for patients with advanced cancer or in terminal care: Meaning-Centered Group Psychotherapy (MCGP), Individual Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy (IMCP), Meaning-Making intervention (MMi), Meaning of Life Intervention, Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM), Hope Intervention, Cognitive and Existential Intervention, Dignity Therapy, and Life-Review Interviews. All deal with the issues pointed by Yalom. Existential or spiritual well-being improvements were validated in MCGP, IMCP, Meaning of Life intervention, and Life-Review intervention.

Conclusions

Current evidence is still based on a very limited number of studies. Additional research is needed to delve into the impact of existential psychotherapy on individuals facing advanced cancer.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Type
Abstract
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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