A Spiritual Health Intervention (PATH) for Improving Spiritual, Religious and Emotional Distress in Cancer Patients

This clinical trial tests the feasibility and effectiveness of a spiritual health intervention (Personal Archetypes Toward Healing Trial \[PATH\]) for improving spiritual, religious and existential distress in patients with cancer. Many patients with cancer find their diagnosis to elicit challenges to their sense of connection, meaning, and purpose. This distress can significantly impact their quality of life. However, spiritual care interventions are often overlooked. PATH builds on multiple theories and therapeutic practices such as role-playing, archetype psychology, cognitive theory, emotion regulation therapy, and dignity therapy. PATH sessions cover topics such as individuation, intrapersonal meaning and worth, intrapersonal distress and faith, interpersonal distress and faith, and transpersonal distress and faith. The PATH intervention may help cancer patients shift their perspectives and access new insights for working through their spiritual, religious and existential distress.

OUTLINE: Patients attend 1 individual PATH session with the interventionist on day 1 and then attend group PATH workshop sessions weekly for 5 sessions (days 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35). After completion of study intervention, patients are followed up on days 42 and 84.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18 years of age or older * English speaking * Able to provide informed consent * Current diagnosis of cancer at any stage, engaged in active treatment or surveillance at Fred Hutch Cancer Center * Scores of "Somewhat" or above on at least 1 item the Religious and Spiritual Struggles scale (RSS-5) (e.g., Somewhat = 3 on a 1-to-5 Likert scale) Exclusion Criteria: * Non-oncology Fred Hutch patients