CANCER DISTRESS REDUCTION IN COUPLES 1

Table A1

Description of the Relationship Skills Program – Side by Side

Session / Theme / Objectives
1 / Understanding the impact of the cancer diagnosis on body and soul and supporting each other / Discussion of why addressing cancer is a couple’s issue, in addition to being an individual issue for both partners.
Enhancing couple’s communication. Teaching specific listening and speaking skills through modeling and role playing for sharing thoughts and feelings about cancer, along with communication strategies for accepting and affirming the other person’s feelings and perspectives.
Psychoeducation about breast or gynecological cancer.
Discussion about emotional and practical ways to support each other.
2 / Emotional and practical dyadic support / Addressing the relation between thoughts, emotions, and behaviors and strategies to cope with unhelpful thoughts. Looking at the role thoughts play in how a person feels and copes, and how the couple can help each other to manage upsetting thoughts or feelings.
Enhancement of dyadic coping (DC). Teaching the 3-phase method from Bodenmann 28. Both partners are trained to decode stress signals from each other, select appropriate supportive DC strategies and elicit feedback about the provided DC.
Suggestions for useful practical ways to support each other.
3 / Coping with cancer at the present time / Enhancement of dyadic coping (see session 2).
Activity scheduling as a strategy to influence mood and achieve more emotional balance. Help couple to develop a plan to return to activities and lifestyles that might have been interrupted while receiving treatments.
Addressing the emotional, social, and physical needs of the couple’s children (or significant others). Help couples to communicate in an appropriate way with underage children (or significant others).
4 / Coping with cancer in the future / Reflection of the experience with cancer (personal growth) and discussion about goals for the future.
Focusing on sexuality, physical affection, and body image. Assessing changes and problems in couple’s intimacy and sexual functioning since the diagnoses. Providing information about the impact of medical treatments on sexual functioning and guidance in enhancing intimacy.