Adjuvant Psychological Therapy: definition, characteristics and techniques

Suffering from a medical illness entails, in addition to the physical symptoms of the disease, a series of psychological and emotional disturbances that cannot be ignored.

Thus, the ideal is that the medical treatment is applied in combination with a psychological treatment focused on treating said alterations.

Today we will talk about a very specific therapy, Adjuvant Psychological Therapy, aimed at treating cancer patients. Let's see what it consists of and the techniques it uses. In addition, we will know the coping responses of people to diseases.

• Related article: "The 8 benefits of going to psychological therapy"

Bases of Adjuvant Psychological Therapy

Adjuvant Psychological Therapy (APT) It was developed by Moorey and Gree.r (1989) and is intended for cancer patients. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated in various investigations, providing benefits in the short and long term.

The TPA is based on the Beck's Cognitive Therapy (Beck, 1976) and in research carried out with patients with breast cancer. It is a therapy that

includes psychoeducation and that considers the active collaboration of the patient essential.

The intervention with Adjuvant Psychological Therapy is carried out in a series of 6 to 12 one-hour sessions (approximately). The essential objective of therapy is to increase the well-being of the patient and their survival time through the achievement of more specific goals. Some of them are:

• Reduce the physical (vomiting, nausea,...) and associated psychological symptoms (anxiety Depression,...).
• Promote a fighting spirit against the disease.
• Increase the feeling of personal control over one's life.
• Develop coping strategies effective.

TPA Elements

Adjuvant Psychological Therapy is based on the hypothesis that psychological morbidity related to the cancer is determined, in addition to the real consequences of the disease, by two variables Fundamentals:

• The personal meaning of illness: how the patient perceives cancer and the implications that this entails.
• coping strategies of the patient: what the patient thinks and does to reduce the threat posed by the disease.

These two variables are analyzed in therapy, delving into the person's personal relationships and the quality of emotional support that he receives from them.

On the other hand, in Adjuvant Psychological Therapy the quality of emotional support is analyzed that the patient receives from his family, friends, doctors and nurses, which influences the two variables mentioned in the therapy.

coping responses

The coping responses of the patient are those psychological, social and emotional mechanisms that the person uses to face the disease and try to recover from it.

Two authors, Watson (1988) and Greer (1989) collect five categories of psychological responses to cancer. Let's see them:

1. Fighting spirit

It is about adopting an optimistic attitude towards the disease, being convinced to fight against it and fully accept the diagnosis.

It is characteristic of people who approach life's obstacles as challenges instead of as difficulties.

2. helplessness/hopelessness

It is the adoption of a defeatist and pessimistic attitude towards the disease. The person has no hope of recovery.

It implies that cancer breaks out abruptly and continuously in life of the patient, who cannot think of anything else. It is a dysfunctional mechanism that makes coping with the disease and adherence to treatment difficult.

3. Anxious Worry

Here the anxiety is intense and persistent, and often accompanied by depressive symptoms. The patient actively seeks information about cancer but interprets it pessimistically and negatively. Each symptom of the disease is experienced in a highly worrisome way and the patient always associates it with an exacerbation of cancer.

When the coping response is this, the patient usually turns to alternative treatments to treat their ailment.

• Related article: "What is anxiety: how to recognize it and what to do"

4. Fatalism (Stoic Acceptance)

The patient adopts a fatalistic attitude towards the situation; accepts the disease with resignation, living it as something irremediable and that has no cure. Does not take any action to deal with the disease, you simply accept the diagnosis and do not seek further information or resources.

5. Avoidance (Denial)

The person does not accept the diagnosis, denies it, or even avoids using the word "cancer." It may also be that you recognize the diagnosis but deny or minimize its severity, as well as the negative symptoms it causes.

TPA Techniques

The psychological techniques included in Adjuvant Psychological Therapy are very varied. Some of them are:

• cognitive techniques: cognitive restructuring, recording of automatic thoughts,...
• behavioral techniques: relaxation, assignment of graduated tasks,...
• non-directive techniques: venting of feelings (helps express repressed feelings and emotions)

When treating the psychological alterations associated with cancer, one must take into account, among other elements, the automatic negative thoughts (PAN) underlying the disease. The objective will be to identify and modify them, and this will be carried out through cognitive techniques.