Activating Happiness in Cancer

The number of worldwide cancer survivors is projected to be 21.3 million by 2030. To treat this growing population, group psychological interventions are increasingly utilized and require empirical support to evaluate their effectiveness. To address the need to assess positive group psychological interventions for cancer survivors and caregivers that incorporates diverse conceptualizations of adaption and examines both mental and physical health outcomes, this project is a study on a 4-week psychoeducation intervention group entitled "Activating happiness in cancer: A positive psychology workshop for patients, survivors, and caregivers." The project will evaluate the following hypotheses: (1) Participation in a positive psychology workshop will predict higher levels of well-being, mindfulness, gratitude, and vitality for cancer survivors and caregivers at the end of the group, and these changes will be maintained 3 months after the group has ended; and (2) Participation in a positive psychology intervention group will predict lower levels of depression, anxiety, pain, fatigue, loneliness, and healthcare utilization for cancer survivors and caregivers at the end of the group, and these changes will be maintained 3 months after the group has ended. Additionally, the project poses the following question: (1) What elements of positive psychological workshop do cancer survivors and caregivers perceive as most meaningful?