Short-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in Serious Physical Illness — ORPHYS  

Carcinoma Clinical Trial

Official title: ORPHYS - Short-term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in Serious Physical Illness

Status Recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

Life-threatening physical illness may powerfully re-activate existential conflict. There is little evidence to date on the effectiveness of relationship-focused therapies in this patient group.The aim of this study is to pilot a psychodynamic treatment for patients with advanced cancer and high psychological distress.

Clinical Trial Description

Severely physically ill patients may experience existential distress symptoms including helplessness, hopelessness, death anxiety, perceived burdensomeness and a sense of pointlessness. The latter can significantly interfere with end-of-life care processes and outcomes (receipt of treatment according to preferences, expression of desire for hastened death). So far, empirically tested psychotherapeutic programs in advanced life-threatening illness have predominantly been ultra-short and applied supportive and resource-oriented techniques. Psychodynamic treatment allows to address clinically significant existential distress through its conceptualization from early relational life experiences.

The aim of this study is to pilot a psychodynamic treatment for patients with advanced cancer and high psychological distress.The inverstigators will

1. analyse the feasibility of the treatment, and

2. investigate changes in process- and patient-relevant outcomes over the course of the treatment

The inverstigators will conduct a single-group pre-post study with five assessment points in which 50 adult patients diagnosed with advanced cancer will receive a manualized psychodynamic short-term therapy. Target parameters are assessed by diagnostic interviews, focus interviews, self-assessment questionnaires as well as electronic patient records. For research objective b) the investigators will compare the intervention group with a matched comparison group of a longitudinal cohort sample (NCT04600206). Matching will be based on stress level, demographic, and medical parameters across the 5 assessment points. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Carcinoma
• Malignant Neoplasm
• Neoplasms
• Palliative Care

• NCT number: NCT05520281
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf
• Contact: Sigrun Vehling, PD, PhD
• Phone: +4940741056805
• Email: s.vehling@uke.de
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: September 15, 2022
• Completion date: June 30, 2025