A Study of Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Caregivers to People With Cancer

Participants will complete 1 set of questionnaires about 2 weeks before beginning their Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Caregivers/MCP-C or standard Supportive Psychotherapy for Caregivers/SP-C sessions. These questionnaires will ask about participants' sense of meaning and purpose in life, spiritual well-being, depression and/or anxiety, and social support. Participants will then be assigned to receive either MCP-C or SP-C for 7 sessions. Participants will complete additional sets of questionnaires about 2 weeks, 6 months, and 12 months after their last session of MCP-C or SP-C. It will take between 35 and 50 minutes to complete each set of questionnaires. After participants complete the MCP-C or SP-C sessions and all 4 sets of questionnaires, their participation in this study will end. If participants decide not to complete all 7 sessions, they may still choose to complete the questionnaires. Participants may remain in the study and continue to receive all 7 sessions of MCP-C or SP-C even if their loved one passes away.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Age 18 or over;
* As per self-report, a current caregiver to a patient with Stage III or IV solid tumor cancer currently receiving medical care of any kind (e.g., curative, palliative);
* Experiences distress as evidenced by a score of 4 or greater on the Distress Thermometer (DT) and an indication that this distress is associated with caregiving;
* As per self-report, can read and understand English;
* As per self-report, residing in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Florida, or have the ability to complete sessions while complying with current telehealth regulations.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Participant does not have a reasonable understanding of the study activities by the judgment of the consenting professional;
* Engagement in regular individual psychotherapeutic support that the participant is unable or unwilling to put on hold for the course of treatment.

• DERIVEDApplebaum AJ, Walsh LE, Zaider T, Baser RE, Loschiavo MJ, Breitbart WS, Lichtenthal WG. Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers: Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2026 Mar 21;27(1):336. doi: 10.1186/s13063-026-09621-7. PMID 41864988
• DERIVEDApplebaum AJJ, Walsh LE, Zaider T, Baser RE, Loschiavo MJ, Breitbart WS, Lichtenthal WG. Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy for Cancer Caregivers Study protocol of a randomized controlled trial. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2026 Feb 4:rs.3.rs-7963562. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7963562/v1. PMID 41674824