Clinical Research Directory

Psychological Care of Oncology Patients With Post-traumatic Stress in the Context of a COVID-19

Sponsor: Centre Francois Baclesse

Summary

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns of the risk of infection may lead to fear, anxiety or psychological disorders that may become generalised and long-lasting, corresponding to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD generally occurs in circumstances such as terrorist attacks, hostage-taking, bombings, aggression, accidents... The current health crisis also represents an increased risk of PTSD. After the first moments of stress, the illness becomes more diffuse: personality change (introverted/extraverted), sleep disorders, heart problems, hypervigilance reaction, agoraphobia, symptoms of reminiscence, irritability, decreased concentration, memory loss... In some people, PTSD can lead to more disabling problems such as (crowd) avoidance. In order to help patients with PTSD, clinical psychology offers therapeutic approaches which, starting from a debriefing with the patient, provide supportive therapy which (i) reassures by providing information on the symptomatology, in order to play down the present state of mind, (ii) allows for the expression of what was experienced during the event, (iii) initiates a process of elaboration of the trauma through transference. A previous study conducted at the François Baclesse Center during the first COVID-19 lockdown (April to June 2020), which included 735 patients, assessed the impact of the pandemic on cancer patients treated in day hospitals. That study found that 21% of patients met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 23% reported insomnia. Based on these findings, the present study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of an adapted psychological intervention for patients with pandemic-related PTSD.

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