| Adolescents have been found to have aversive psychological and emotional reactions to having a parent diagnosed and treated for cancer (e.g. Compas, Worsham, Ey, & Howell, 1996; . Birenbaum, Yancey, Phillips, Chand, & Huster,1999). They have been found to have anxiety and depressive symptomatology in response to their parent's experience (Compas, Worsham, Ey, & Howell, 1996). The primary current intervention for children who have a parent with cancer includes support groups, which then transition to bereavement groups if their parent dies (Diareme, Tsiantis, Romer, Tsalamanios, Anasontzi, Paliokosta, et al. 2007). Mindfulness has been found to be effective for individuals who have cancer (i.e. Foley, Baillie, Huxter, Price, & Sinclair, 2010; KievietStijnen, Visser, Garssen, & Hudig, 2008; Smith, Richardson, Hoffman, & Pilkington, 2005; Tacon, Caldera, & Ronaghan, 2004). It has also been found to be effective for children experiencing anxiety and depression (i.e. Semple, Reid, and Miller, 2005; Thompson & Gauntlett-Gilbert, 2008), which are common reactions found in adolescent children of parents with cancer. I plan to review current treatments for adolescents who have a parent with cancer and propose how mindfulness and acceptance and commitment therapy techniques can address certain areas of adjustment that have not been given sufficient attention. Specifically, the intervention will focus on reducing anxiety and depressive symptomology and it will challenge the experiential avoidance that often occurs amongst these adolescent children. |
