CCM Intervention
The CCM intervention is an adapted mindfulness-based program grounded on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program which incorporates a recognised, well-established type of therapeutic intervention, and the CCM intervention’s safety is based on previously conducted studies (Carlson & Garland, 2005; Carlson et al., 2007; Kabat-Zinn, 1990; Shapiro et al., 2003; Speca & Carlson, 2006; Tacón et al., 2004).
I have devised the CCM intervention where the three components, mindful coping skills, acceptance stance and meaning in life were carefully structured to build the skills in a logical order and assembled into one comprehensive intervention, and information from published research was provided empirical evidence to deepen the content included and to better frame the intervention for the target population – adults with advanced cancer.
The decision to determine what topics would be included in the CCM intervention were supported by my previous experience working with patients and by the literature (Breitbart et al., 2012; Carlson & Speca, 2010; Frankl, 1959/1992; Hayes et al., 1999b; Kabat-Zinn, J., 2013; Rosenfeld, Barry et al., 2016; Steger et al., 2006).
I have developed the scripts of each CCM session (session 1 to session 4) based on an accumulation of my professional knowledge, an integration of a number of different theorists, my practical experience and professional academic life. I first was introduced to guided meditation and to the logotherapy as a discipline at the university in psychology, about 10 years ago. I have been to workshops in the hospice in England, based in the meaning-centre therapies. I was also inspired by my training in MBSR, and then, I immersed myself in the literature of Jon Kabat-Zinn, Linda Carlson, Viktor Frankl, William Breitbart, and Steven C. Hayes.
The CCM intervention comprises four mindfulness sessions of approximately 20 minutes each to fit a brief intervention program with participants encouraged to practice at home as much as they wish.
Content of sessions
In the CCM intervention, every pre-recorded session is to be listened systematically, enabling the patients to listen to session one in week one, session two in week two, and the following sessions in systematic order. By the fourth week they had all four sessions to retain.
Session two contains guided meditation (breathing and relaxation techniques) and reflections on acquiring an acceptance stance through mindfulness practice.
Session three contains guided meditation (breathing and relaxation techniques) and reflections about meaning in life through mindfulness practice.
Session four contains a conclusion involving mindfulness of breath and body sensations, mindfulness of thoughts and feelings, and the practice review for further self-management of the assimilated coping skills and reflections about meaning in life.
I was available in person for the four sessions to deliver them and to answer any questions that might arise relating to the content of the sessions. If you wish to access sessions two, three and four, please contact me.
The methodology behind the CCM intervention
My PhD study was a single group pre-post test design with a convergent parallel mixed methods approach for data analysis.
The quantitative, qualitative and convergent analyses of this study are under revision for further possible publication. I will update the information here as soon as it is published.
A brief summary of the study’s results
Twenty adults with advanced cancer (stage III or IV) participated in the study, and adherence to the CCM treatment was 100%, with 19/20 post-intervention questionnaires completed.
Based on the preliminary findings of this study, it was concluded that the participants’ perspective of their illness shifted as a result of the CCM intervention, from an initial state of vulnerability to one that encouraged and produced positive perspectives and actions in relation to the participants’ cancer experience, despite their ongoing vulnerability.
These findings suggest that those with advanced cancer should be offered suitable options of psychological support that they can access at any stage post-diagnosis. Results from this study suggest that a brief, individual home-delivery, low-burden, mindfulness-based intervention is a viable psychological support option that could be offered by healthcare providers to address the gap in services for patients with advanced cancer. Participants’ feedback indicates that the nature and delivery of the CCM intervention made this original mindfulness-based brief intervention a readily accessible psychological aid to assist them to better cope with their current reality, and a valuable self-management resource to help these patients cope with further adversity.
For more details, you can download my full doctoral dissertation below.
The CCM sessions are developed by Dr. Fernanda F. Zimmermann and voiced by Dr. Henrietta Trip. The background songs used in the four pre-recorded CCM sessions were purchased for the intervention’s purpose. These songs are created by Christopher Lloyd Clarke, licensed by Enlightened Audio. All rights are reserved to the CCM intervention’s author (Dr. Fernanda F. Zimmermann). The CCM intervention will not be copied, redistributed, published or broadcast as this is part of a PhD research.