Psychological aspects of meaning-centered group psychotherapy: Spanish experience

Objective: Our aim was to identify the themes that arise when applying adapted meaning-centered group psychotherapy (MCGP) in Spanish-speaking advanced cancer patients. Method: A mixed qualitative-quantitative analysis was performed on the transcripts of interviews with 22 advanced cancer patients who had been assigned to three MCGP subgroups. Results: We found six new emergent themes in addition to the originally constructed themes of MCGP. Threat and uncertainty were the two most frequent emergent issues for our Spanish patients. Significance of results: The implementation of MCGP in Spanish patients validated the themes proposed by Breitbart and colleagues' foundational work on MCGP and also suggested new issues relevant to patient well-being (classified as emergent themes). Taking our findings into account, we propose that these new themes be considered in the Spanish adaptation of MCGP as well as in future adaptations of this form of psychotherapy in treating Latin American patients.