Published online Nov 6, 2021. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i31.9386
Peer-review started: July 6, 2021
First decision: July 26, 2021
Revised: August 6, 2021
Accepted: September 22, 2021
Article in press: September 22, 2021
Published online: November 6, 2021
Cancer is a disease that poses a significant threat to human health. With the im
Psychological interventions for cancer patients are receiving increasing attention, helping patients establish treatment confidence, change their negative perceptions, reduce their anxiety and depression, correct unhealthy lifestyles, improve their social adaptation and coping skills, and improve their quality of life. However, psychological intervention measures are relatively limited and not targeted, and most of them stay at the level of psychological support. Psychotherapy needs to be further developed in a broad and in-depth manner for cancer patients.
To investigate the mental health of cancer patients and analyze the factors related to their mental disorders, the second goal was to explore the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on depression and anxiety in cancer patients and determine whether it results in improvements in their personality characteristics.
According to the matching design requirements, 150 cancer patients were divided into 3 groups according to their sex, age, condition, and cultural background. Patients in the control group received conventional treatment. Patients in experimental group 1 received an intervention based on conventional treatment combined with CBT. Patients in experimental group 2 received the same treatment as experimental group 1 with family members' participation. An Eysenck personality questionnaire was used to examine all the patients before and after the intervention, and the scores for psychosis, introversion, neuroticism, and concealment degree of cancer patients were analyzed.
Compared with the control group, experimental group 1 and experimental group 2 had decreases in the four dimensions of mental quality, neuroticism, introversion and concealment degree after the intervention, and the difference was statistically significant. After the intervention, there were no differences among the groups for the personality traits psychoticism and neuroticism, both inside and outside, for all four dimensions.
Simple CBT could not change the personality characteristics of cancer patients quickly, but the personality characteristics of patients in the three groups were significantly improved after treatment.
CBT can prolong the life span of cancer patients; reduce their anxiety, depression and other negative emotions; and improve their psychological and physical health. In addition, the application of CBT can help cancer patients undergo psychological reconstruction; reduce their rigid thinking, distorted cognition and irrational behaviors; and to a certain extent also improve their quality of life.