Weekly | Planned activities |
---|---|
1 | • Introduction of the therapist/patient and establishment of rapport |
 | • Objective measurement of depression and anxiety symptoms |
 | • Psychoeducation: disease - explanation of the cancer diagnosis and current health status; symptoms - a discussion of uncomfortable symptoms secondary to the cancer; adverse events - an explanation of adverse events that result from treatment procedures; PC - What is it? What is it for? For whom is it provided? When is it provided? How is it provided? Where is it provided? |
 | • Delivery of the ‘Educational Booklet’ that was developed specifically for this study1 |
 | • Establishment of therapeutic goals |
 | • ‘Partnership Agreement’ - the moment when the therapist and the patient sign a commitment to walk together on the path that will be traveled by both during the five proposed sessions |
 | • Establishment of the dates and times of the sessions |
 | • Session summary and feedback |
2 | • Assessment of weekly progress and a bridge to the previous session |
 | • Objective measurement of depression and anxiety symptoms |
 | • Reinforcement of the therapeutic goals that were set in the previous session |
• Early PC - description of the benefits of simultaneous monitoring by a PC team for advanced cancer patients who are submitted to palliative chemotherapy and presentation of the explanatory figure ‘Goals of Care’ [35] | |
• Delivery of the Coping Card2 | |
• Session summary and feedback | |
3 | • Assessment of weekly progress and a bridge to the previous session |
 | • Objective measurement of depression and anxiety symptoms |
 | • Anxiety mechanisms: perceived symptoms and how to monitor these symptoms |
 | • Relaxing training - image association |
 | • Session summary and feedback |
4 | • Assessment of weekly progress and a bridge to the previous session |
 | • Objective measurement of depression and anxiety symptoms |
 | • Mechanisms of depressive symptoms: perceived symptoms and how to monitor these symptoms |
 | • Identification of automatic thoughts (thought > emotion > behavior), explanation of how thoughts affect emotions and therefore behaviors, and elucidating the key role of thought on emotion and behavior |
 | • Patient preparation for discontinuation following the next session |
 | • Delivery of the Coping Card1 |
 | • Session summary and feedback |
5 | • Assessment of weekly progress |
• Objective measurement of depression and anxiety symptoms | |
• Retrospective of the methods used in the previous sessions, including progress, difficulties, commitment, and learning | |
• Discussion of the patient’s ability to control and understand the process as a way to prevent serious symptoms | |
• General feedback |