A Study Comparing Two Types of Supportive Interventions for Caregivers of Patients With Cancer

Open to people ages 18 years and up

Caregivers:

• As per self-report, age 18 years or older.
• As per self-report, are a caregiver to an MSK or MGH patient with any site/stage of cancer who has received any type of treatment (e.g. curative, palliative) in the past 12 months.
• Experience distress as evidenced by a score of 4 or greater on the Distress Thermometer (DT) and answer "Yes" to at least one of the follow-up questions (i.e. reporting that their distress is related to their caregiving experience, or their distress started or is related to caregiving or has gotten worse since the patient was diagnosed or began treatment. (N/A for training case participants)
• English fluent: Self-report by subject identifying English as the preferred language for healthcare, and self-reported degree of fluency as speaking English "Very well."
• As per self-report, residing in New York or New Jersey (for MSK participants), or Massachusetts (for MGH participants), or have the ability to complete sessions while complying with current telehealth regulations.

Patients:

• Age 18 years or older as per EMR.
• Patient of an eligible caregiver per self-report or the EMR.
• English speaking as per the EMR or self report by subject identifying English as the preferred language for healthcare, and self-reported degree of fluency as speaking English "Very well.".

Caregivers:

• As per self-report, presence of disorder that compromises comprehension of assessments or informed consent information (e.g., dementia).
• As per the judgement of the consenting professional, clinical, PI, and/or as per the medical record, severe psychopathology or cognitive impairment which is likely to interfere with the participation or completion of the protocol or their ability to provide meaningful information
• As per self-report, currently engaged in regular individual psychotherapeutic support (that the participant is unable or unwilling to put on hold for the course of treatment).
• As per self-report, a lifetime history of bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or schizoaffective disorder.
• As per self-report, has medical condition or medication use known to confound measures of systemic inflammation (e.g., autoimmune disorder, inflammatory disease; uncontrolled thyroid disease; active infection; myocardial infarction or stroke in the last 6 months; Type I diabetes; acute hepatitis; recent vaccination for viral disease). (N/A for training case participants)
• As per self-report, is a regular smoker, defined as having more than 2 cigarettes per day on most days. (N/A for training case participants)
• As per self-report, providing care for a patient who has a caregiver is currently or formerly enrolled in this study ('formerly enrolled' is N/A for training case participants).
• As per self-report, currently enrolled in another study focused on supportive care for caregivers (MGH participants only).

Patients:

• Presence of disorder that compromises comprehension of assessments or informed consent information (e.g., dementia) as per EMR or clinician judgment.
• As per the judgement of the consenting professional, clinical, PI, and/or as per the medical record, severe psychopathology or cognitive impairment which is likely to interfere with the participation or completion of the protocol or their ability to provide meaningful information