Ellen A. Dornelas. - Psychological treatment of patients with cancer.

Clinical Health Psychology Series

Psychological Treatment of Medical Patients in Integrated Primary Care

Anne C. Dobmeyer

Psychological Treatment of Patients With Cancer

Ellen A. Dornelas

Copyright 2018 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, including, but not limited to, the process of scanning and digitization, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Electronic edition published 2018.

ISBN: 978-1-4338-2806-5 (electronic edition).

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The opinions and statements published are the responsibility of the authors, and such opinions and statements do not necessarily represent the policies of the American Psychological Association.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Dornelas, Ellen A., author.

Title: Psychological treatment of patients with cancer / Ellen A. Dornelas.

Other titles: Clinical health psychology series.

Description: First edition. | Washington, DC : American Psychological Association, [2018] | Series: Clinical health psychology series | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017013399 | ISBN 9781433828058 | ISBN 1433828057

Subjects: | MESH: Neoplasmspsychology | Psychotherapymethods

Classification: LCC RC271.M4 | NLM QZ 200 | DDC 616.99/40651dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017013399

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A CIP record is available from the British Library.

First Edition

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0000054-000

Series Foreword

M ental health practitioners working in medicine represent the vanguard of psychological practice. As scientific discovery and advancement in medicine has rapidly evolved in recent decades, it has been a challenge for clinical health psychology practice to keep pace.

In a fast-changing field, and with a paucity of practice-based research, classroom models of health psychology practice often do not translate well to clinical care. All too often, health psychologists work in silos, with little appreciation of how advancement in one area might inform another. The goal of the Clinical Health Psychology Series is to change these trends and provide a comprehensive yet concise overview of the essential elements of clinical practice in specific areas of health care. The future of 21st-century health psychology depends on the ability of new practitioners to be innovative and to generalize their knowledge across domains. To this end, the series focuses on a variety of topics and provides both a foundation as well as specific clinical examples for mental health professionals who are new to the field.

We have chosen authors who are recognized experts in the field and are rethinking the practice of health psychology to be aligned with modern drivers of health care, such as population health, cost of care, quality of care, and customer experience.

Discussion of the book series began over a cup of coffee in Washington, DC, with Susan Reynolds, senior acquisitions editor at APA Books. I was interested in writing a book about psychological treatment of patients with cancer, and Susan had a vision for a clinical health psychology series written for a practitioner readership. This volume would have never been possible had I not had the great privilege of working with people whose lives have been affected by cancer. To work in psychosocial oncology is also to be humbled in following in the footsteps of many extraordinary leaders who helped this field take shape. It is my hope that this book honors the patients and family members who have helped me to gain great appreciation for the dignity, grace, and resilience of the human spirit in its capacity to cope with cancer.

Ellen A. Dornelas, PhD

Series Editor

Introduction

A lthough I have been a practicing clinical health psychologist in a hospital setting for many years and have treated quite a few individuals with cancer, I did not become fully immersed in psychosocial oncology until I was hired full-time in a cancer center. As I became immersed in the day-to-day work in this busy urban center, I quickly realized that I needed a brief, easy-to-digest guide that would provide me with information about treating the broad spectrum of patients with cancer.

The challenges of treating the mental health needs of a large volume of high-acuity patients placed great limits on my time. I searched for literature on this topic and found excellent resources, such as the Quick Reference for Oncology Clinicians: The Psychiatric and Psychological Dimensions of Cancer Symptom Management (Holland, Greenberg, & Hughes, 2006), published by the American Psychosocial Oncology Societys (APOS) Institute for Research and Education. Indeed, APOS and their international counterpart, the International Psychological Oncology Society, are a welcoming multidisciplinary community devoted to improving the quality of life and the experience of people living with cancer. However, although many excellent books are focused on the psychological experience of people with cancer written for both patients and mental health professionals, I did not find the exact type of book I was searching for. Thus, this volume was written to address what I perceived as a gap in the literature: a book that is succinct but comprehensive in scope such that a mental health professional can build a foundation of knowledge that can generalize to the majority of patients with whom she or he works. This book was written for the practitioner who has a good general understanding of clinical psychology but is new to working with patients who have cancer, or for the practitioner who has worked only with a particular subgroup of oncology patients (e.g., women with breast cancer) and desires to further his or her capability to treat a broader spectrum. My own understanding and clinical work with people who have cancer continues to evolve and has been a tremendously gratifying source of personal and career growth. It is my sincere hope that the information herein will encourage more clinical practitioners to seek additional training in psychosocial oncology. The number of cancer survivors will increase dramatically in the years to come, and it is important that psychology respond by creating the needed workforce.