half day workshop

A BRIEF COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL INTERVENTION TO PREVENT THE ONSET OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN ADULTS WITH A NEWLY DIAGNOSED CANCER.
Michael Parle, St Vincents Private Hospital Sydney, Australia and Carolyn Pitceathley, Maguire Communication Skills Training Unit, Christie Hospital, Manchester UK

AC Hotel Room: Sants

This half day workshop presents a recently evaluated brief cognitive behavioural intervention to prevent the onset of anxiety and depressive disorders in newly diagnosed cancer patients.  Research indicates that 20% to 40% of adults develop an anxiety or depressive disorder in the first year after a cancer diagnosis.  Already meta-analyses have established cognitive behavioural therapies as effective interventions to treat psychological disorders in cancer settings yet there are few strategies to prevent these disorders.  Encouragingly in a recent UK multi-centre randomised controlled trial for 313 women and men newly diagnosed with cancer, this three session CBT intervention resulted in significantly fewer patients developing anxiety or depressive disorders across a 12 month period.  This CBT intervention helps expand the repertoire of cognitive and behavioural interventions available for those working in cancer care and similar health settings.

Carolyn Pitceathly is Deputy Manager and Senior Trainer with the newly commissioned  Maguire Communication Skills Training Unit, Christie Hospital Manchester and works clinically with the Psycho-Oncology team at the Christie Hospital.  She was previously Research Fellow with the CRUK Psychological Medicine Group, Christie Hospital Manchester UK, developing and teaching psychological interventions for cancer settings.  She has published multiple book chapters and articles in peer review journals relating to research of psychological interventions and communication skills in cancer care.  Michael Parle is a consulting and clinical psychologist in Sydney Australia, with appointments at St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Sydney and Charles Sturt University.  His work as a clinical psychologist has included research, teaching and dissemination of evidence based psychological interventions for serious health problems, in the UK (CRUK Psychological Medicine Group, Christie Hospital Manchester UK) and in Australia including Australia’s National Breast Cancer Centre.

Key References:
Carolyn Pitceathly, Peter Maguire, Ian Fletcher, Michael Parle, Francis Creed 2006:  Can A Brief Psychological Intervention Prevent Affective Disorders In Cancer Patients? A Randomised Controlled Trial (manuscript submitted for publication) 
Gallagher, J, Parle M & Cairns, D (2002) Predictors of women's psychological distress six months after diagnosis of breast cancer. British Journal of Health Psychology 7, 365-376.  NHMRC National Breast Cancer Centre (2000) Psychosocial Clinical Practice Guidelines: Providing information, support and counselling for women with breast cancer. Canberra, Australian Govt Printing Service.