A review of cognitive therapy in acute medical settings. Part II: Strategies and complexities | Palliative & Supportive Care | Cambridge Core (original) (raw)

Article contents

Abstract

Objective:

Cognitive therapy (CT) has considerable utility for psychosomatic medicine (PM) in acute medical settings but, to date, no such cohesive adaptation has been developed. Part I delineated a CT model for acute medical settings focusing on assessment and formulation. In Part II, we review how CT can be applied to common PM clinical challenges. A pragmatic approach is helpful because this review targets PM trainees and educators.

Methods:

Narrative review is used to discuss the application of CT strategies to common challenges in acute medical settings. Treatment complexities and limitations associated with the PM setting are detailed. Exemplary dialogues are used to model techniques.

Result:

We present CT approaches to eight common scenarios: (1) distressed or hopeless patients; (2) patients expressing pivotal distorted cognitions/images; (3) patients who catastrophize; (4) patients who benefit from distraction and activation strategies; (5) panic and anxiety; (6) suicidal patients; (7) patients who are stuck and helpless; (8) inhibited patients. Limitations are discussed.

Significance of results:

A CT informed PM assessment, formulation and early intervention with specific techniques offers a novel integrative framework for psychotherapy with the acutely medically ill. Future efforts should focus on dissemination, education of fellows and building research efficacy data.

Keywords

Information

Type

Review Articles

Copyright

Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

American Psychological Association. (2003). ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Psychosomatic Medicine. Acreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.Google Scholar

Beck, A.T. & Emery, G. (1985). Anxiety Disorders and Phobias: A Cognitive Perspective. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar

Beck, A.T., Kovacs, M. & Weissman, A. (1975). Hopelessness and suicidal behavior. An overview. Journal of the American Medical Association, 234, 1146–1149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Beck, A.T., Rush, A.J., Shaw, B.F. et al. (1979). Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar

Beck, A.T., Steer, R.A., Kovacs, M. & Garrison, B. (1985). Hopelessness and eventual suicide: A 10-year prospective study of patients hospitalized with suicidal ideation. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 559–563.Google Scholar

Beck, J.S. (1995). Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar

Bialer, P., Roth, A.J., Kissane, D.W., et al. (2009). Communication Skills Training (CST) for psychosomatic medicine fellows. 56th Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine Meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada.Google Scholar

Bruera, F., Kuehn, N. & Miller, M.J. (1991). Edmonton symptom assessment system (ESAS): A simple method for the assessment of palliative care patients. Journal of Palliative Care, 7, 6–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Clarke, D. & Kissane, D. (2002). Demoralization: Its phenomenology and importance. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36, 733–742.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Dimidjian, S., Hollon, S., Dobson, K., et al. (2006). Randomized trial of behavioral activation, cognitive therapy, and antidepressant medication in the acute treatment of adults with major depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 658–670.Google Scholar

Dobson, K., Hollon, S., Dimidjian, S., et al. (2008). Randomized trial of behavioral activation, cognitive therapy, and antidepressant medication in the prevention of relapse and recurrence in major depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 76, 468–477.Google Scholar

Folkman, S. & Lazarus, R.S. (1988). The relationship between coping and emotion: Implications for theory and research. Social Science & Medicine, 26, 309–317.Google Scholar

Fredrickson, B. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359, 1367–1378.Google Scholar

Goodwin, R. & Roy-Byrne, P. (2006). Panic and suicidal ideation and suicide attempts: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Depression and anxiety, 23, 124–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Hawton, K. & van Heeringen, K. (2009). Suicide. Lancet, 373, 1372–1381.Google Scholar

Hughes, S.L. & Neimeyer, R.A. (1993). Cognitive predictors of suicide risk among hospitalized psychiatric patients: a prospective study. Death studies, 17(2), 103–124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Jacobsen, P.B. & Butler, R.W. (1996). Relation of cognitive coping and catastrophizing to acute pain and analgesic use following breast cancer surgery. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 19, 17–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Jacobsen, P.B., Meade, C.D., Stein, K.D., et al. (2002). Efficacy and costs of two forms of stress management training for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Journal of clinical oncology, 20, 2851–2862.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Kiely, B., Tattersall, M.H.N. & Stockler, M. (2010). Certain death in uncertain time: Informing hope by quantifying a best case scenario. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 28, 2802–2804.Google Scholar

Levin, T.T., Riskind, J.H. & Li, Y. (2007). Looming threat-processing style in a cancer cohort. General Hospital Psychiatry, 29, 32–38.Google Scholar

Levin, T.T., White, C.A. & Kissane, D.W. (2011). A review of cognitive therapy in acute medical settings. Part I: Therapy model and assessment. Palliative and Supportive Care, 11, 141–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

McHugh, R.K., Smits, J.A.J. & Otto, M. (2009). Empirically supported treatments for panic disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 32, 593–610.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Moorey, S., Greer, S. & Gill, P. (2002). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for People with Cancer. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar

Nepon, J., Belik, S.-L., Bolton, J., et al. (2010). The relationship between anxiety disorders and suicide attempts: Findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. Depression and anxiety, 27, 791–798.Google Scholar

Nezu, A.M., Maguth Nezu, C., Friedman, S.H., Faddis, S. & Houts, P.S. (1998). Helping cancer patients cope. A problem solving approach., Washington, DC.Google Scholar

Nezu, A.M., Nezu, C.M., Felgoise, S.H., et al. (2003). Project genesis: Assessing the efficacy of problem-solving therapy for distressed adult cancer patients. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 71, 1036–1048.Google Scholar

Nock, M., Park, J., Finn, C., et al. (2010). Measuring the suicidal mind: Implicit cognition predicts suicidal behavior. Psychological science, 21, 511–517.Google Scholar

Robson, A., Scrutton, F., Wilkinson, L., et al. (2010). The risk of suicide in cancer patients: A review of the literature. Psycho-oncology, 19, 1250–1258.Google Scholar

Sudak, D. (2009). Training in cognitive behavioral therapy in psychiatry residency: An overview for educators. Behavior Modification, 33, 124–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed

Sullivan, M.J., Thorn, B., Haythornthwaite, J.A., et al. (2001). Theoretical perspectives on the relation between catastrophizing and pain. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 17, 52–64.Google Scholar

White, C.A. (2001). Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Chronic Medical Problems. A Guide to Assessment and Treatment in Practice. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar

Winterowd, C., Beck, A.T. & Gruener, D. (2003). Cognitve Therapy with Chronic Pain Patients, New York: Springer.Google Scholar