Couples Therapy to Enhance Intimacy Between Patients With Advanced or Recurrent Prostate Cancer and Their Partners

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Sexuality and Reproductive Issues; Sexual Dysfunction; Psychosocial Effects of Cancer and Its Treatment; Prostate Cancer

Treatments: Procedure: psychosocial assessment and care; Other: questionnaire administration; Other: counseling intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT00483678

P30CA008748 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

07-043

MSKCC-07043

Details and patient eligibility

About

RATIONALE: A couples therapy program may enhance intimacy and reduce psychological distress in patients with prostate cancer and in their partners.

PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying how well couples therapy enhances intimacy and reduces psychological distress in patients with advanced or recurrent prostate cancer and in their partners.

Full description

OBJECTIVES:

• Determine the feasibility of Intimacy-Enhancing Couples Therapy (IECT) for patients with advanced or recurrent prostate cancer and their partners.
• Compare the effect of IECT vs usual care on patients' and their partners' level of global psychological distress.
• Compare the effect of IECT vs usual care on relationship intimacy in these participants.

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, controlled, pilot, multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to marital distress based on partners' scores on the Abbreviated Dyadic Adjustment Scale (high [< 21] vs low [≥ 21]). Patients and their partners are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

• Arm I: Patients and their partners receive Intimacy-Enhancing Couples Therapy over 6 weeks comprising the following four 90-minute sessions: the Story of Cancer; Understanding the Couple, Ways of Relating and Key Influences; Intimacy; and Coping, Support, and Adaptation. Patients and their partners complete treatment satisfaction questionnaires after completion of study intervention.
• Arm II: Patients and their partners receive standard psychosocial care. All participants complete questionnaires assessing psychological distress, intimacy, communication patterns, and overall relationship adjustment/satisfaction at baseline and at 1 month after completion of study intervention.

Enrollment: 64 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 120 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of primary prostate cancer

  • Advanced or recurrent disease

• Receiving concurrent hormonal therapy

• Married and/or co-habitating with a partner for ≥ 1 year

• T-score > 50 on Brief Symptom Inventory-18 questionnaire (patient and/or partner)

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Normal cognitive functioning
• Able to speak and read English
• No significant hearing impairment that would preclude study participation

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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64 participants in 2 patient groups

Intimacy-Enhancing Couples Therapy

Experimental group

Description:

Patients and their partners receive Intimacy-Enhancing Couples Therapy over 6 weeks comprising the following four 90-minute sessions: the Story of Cancer; Understanding the Couple, Ways of Relating and Key Influences; Intimacy; and Coping, Support, and Adaptation. Patients and their partners complete treatment satisfaction questionnaires after completion of study intervention.

Treatment:

Other: counseling intervention

Procedure: psychosocial assessment and care

Other: questionnaire administration

standard psychosocial care

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients and their partners receive standard psychosocial care. All participants complete questionnaires assessing psychological distress, intimacy, communication patterns, and overall relationship adjustment/satisfaction at baseline and at 1 month after completion of study intervention

Treatment:

Procedure: psychosocial assessment and care

Other: questionnaire administration