Cognitive-Existential Group Therapy for Parents of Children with Cancer

Objectives:This study used a quasi-experimental method inthe pretest-posttest to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive-existential group therapy on hopefulness in parents of children with cancer. Methods:Thirty parents (24 to 54 years old) of children with cancer were divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Both groups were assessed with Miller Hope Scale (1988), as pre-test. The experimental group received cognitive-existential group therapy in 12 sessions, each lasting 90 minutes (2 sessions per week), but no psychological intervention was applied to the control group. At the end of the intervention, both groups were reassessed through post-test. Data were analyzed by SPSS through analysis of covariance. Results: Significant differences in hopefulness between the two groups (P<0.01) were observed in favor of the experimental group. Discussion: Cognitive-existential group therapy can be effective in increasing hopefulness in parents of children with cancer.