Cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness for stress and burnout: a waiting list controlled pilot study comparing treatments for parents of children with chronic conditions.

BACKGROUND: Parents of children with chronic conditions often experience a crisis with serious mental health problems for themselves as a consequence. The healthcare focus is on the children; however, the parents often worry about their children's health and future but are seldom offered any counselling or guidance. AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of two group-based behavioural interventions on stress and burnout among parents of children with chronic conditions. DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: After a waiting list control period (n = 28), parents were offered either a cognitive behavioural (CBT, n = 10) or a mindfulness program (MF, n = 9). RESULTS: Both interventions decreased significantly stress and burnout. The within-group effect sizes were large in both interventions (CBT, g = 1.28-1.64; MF, g = 1.25-2.20). CONCLUSIONS: Hence, the results of this pilot study show that treating a group using either CBT or mindfulness can be an efficient intervention for reducing stress levels and burnout in parents of children with chronic conditions.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness for Health-Related Quality of Life: Comparing Treatments for Parents of Children with Chronic Conditions - A Pilot Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND: Research on parents of children with chronic conditions has shown that this parent group frequently suffers from psychological problems such as deteriorating life quality and stress-related disorders. OBJECTIVE: The present feasibility study focuses on Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) and life satisfaction of parents of children with chronic conditions. METHOD: The study was conducted using a repeated measures design and applied either group-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT; n = 10) or a group-based mindfulness programme (MF; n = 9). The study participants were wait-listed for six months. RESULTS: The results indicate improvements for participants in both treatment groups regarding certain areas of HRQOL and life satisfaction. After eight group therapy sessions, parents in the two treatment groups significantly improved their Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores as well as their scores on the mental subscales Vitality, Social functioning, Role emotional and Mental health. In addition, some of the physical subscales, Role physical, Bodily pain and General health, showed considerable improvement for the MF group. When testing for clinical significance by comparing the samples with mean values of a norm population, the MCS scores were significantly lower at pre-measurements, but no significant differences were observed post-measurement. For the Physical component summary (PCS) scores, a significantly higher score was observed at post-measurement when compared to the norm population. Moreover, the results indicate improvement in life satisfaction regarding Spare time, Relation to child and Relation to partner. CONCLUSION: The study concludes that CBT and mindfulness may have a positive effect on areas of HRQOL and life satisfaction.

Effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy on health-related quality of life: An evaluation of therapies provided by trainee therapists.

The present study was carried out to examine the treatment effect of cognitive behavioral therapy provided by trainee therapists at a university clinic, focusing on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) optimism and symptoms. The study was conducted through a repeated measures design and included a treatment group (n = 21), which received cognitive behavioral therapy for an average of 10.7 therapy sessions and a control group (n = 14), that was put on a wait list for 8.6 weeks on average. After treatment, the treatment group improved significantly concerning general health (p = 0.028) and optimism (p = 0.027). In addition, clients improved in several areas within mental health and displayed some reduction in anxiety symptoms. Concurrently, the results also indicated some improvement within the control group, which may have been caused by the initial therapeutic contact, expectancy effects or spontaneous remission. The study concluded that cognitive behavioral therapy provided by trainee therapists may have a positive effect on areas within HRQOL and optimism.

The influence of pediatric cancer diagnosis and illness complication factors on parental distress.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated how primary diagnosis and risk for diagnosis-related complication factors influence parental distress after a child's cancer diagnosis. METHODS: We used a model in which "complicated childhood cancers" were grouped into 1 category, after identifying a set of potentially influential illness complication variables. This category included central nervous system tumors, acute myeloid leukemia, and bone tumors. Parental distress in that category (n=144) was compared with distress after acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n=177) in the child. In addition, comparisons were made between parents of the specific diagnosis groups. A multidimensional questionnaire assessing symptoms of distress was used. RESULTS: Parents in the complicated cancer category showed significantly heightened disease-related fear, anxiety, depression, loss of control, late effects-related uncertainty, and poorer self-esteem compared with parents of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Significantly heightened parental distress was associated with the child having been treated with cranial irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: Relatively heightened distress in parents of children with complicated cancer is influenced by diagnosis-related factors like an intricate prediagnostic phase, and uncertainty about late effects. Heightened vulnerability to distress signals exceptional needs for support and information among parents of children treated for central nervous system or bone tumors.