O tema desta tese nasceu da desacomodação gerada por uma experiência intensa, a partir do trabalho voluntário enquanto psicóloga nas ações psicossociais ofertadas pós-incêndio em uma boate em Santa Maria/RS/Brasil, no dia 27 de janeiro de 2013. Esse acontecimento crítico mobilizou psicólogos/as de todo o país, o/as quais iniciaram uma atuação ativa junto a outras organizações para o planejamento e atendimento a famílias, sobreviventes, profissionais e população em geral. Esse acontecimento crítico desencadeou um exercício de desacomodação dos saberes vigentes e dominantes no campo da Psicologia, os quais, historicamente, vem contribuindo para a psicologização e patologização da vida ao criar estratégias e soluções para experiências do cotidiano. Partimos do reconhecimento da incompletude dos saberes em si mesmos e da possibilidade de falibilidade de saberes já instituídos. Assim, visto a necessária criação de condições para problematizarmos nossas práticas, tomamos o incêndio como ponto de partida para repensarmos formas de emergência e visibilidade de certos modos do fazer psicológico. O objetivo geral foi investigar quais saberes e práticas psicológicas o acontecimento crítico fez emergir Os objetivos específicos foram: mapear as características dos/as psicólogo/as que trabalharam como voluntários após o incêndio na boate em Santa Maria; averiguar os processos de significados atribuídos pelos/as psicólogos/as aos saberes e às práticas da Psicologia nos atendimentos voluntários e o processo representacional gerador desses sentidos; identificar as problematizações sobre os saberes e as práticas psicológicas apontadas pelos/as psicólogos/as diante das demandas geradas, e suas (in)visibilidades na atuação em Psicologia; analisar as ausências e emergências que os/as profissionais identificaram quanto aos saberes e às práticas psicológicas; reconstruir as memórias do trabalho coletivo desses/as psicólogos/as voluntários/as a partir de suas narrativas. O itinerário metodológico recorreu a diferentes formas de levantamento de informações, sendo que o corpus de investigação foi composto por diário de campo, levantamento documental, entrevistas individuais e um grupo focal. Após a análise das informações, delimitamos três conjuntos de análise: Pluralidade do conhecimento: processualidade e coexistência como constituintes do campo de saber; percursos do pensamento psicológico sob a perspectiva histórico-crítica: a construção do campo de saber e dos modos de fazer política; e emergências do campo de saber da Psicologia diante do acontecimento crítico: a construção de saberes contra o desperdício da experiência. Logo, ao considerarmos o acontecimento crítico enquanto dispositivo analisador de saberes e práticas psicológicas, foi possível levantarmos aspectos que consideramos serem as ausências do campo de saber referentes à formação em Psicologia, às técnicas, à relação dos saberes e das práticas com a cidade e os coletivos. Em contrapartida, as emergências levantadas pelos/as profissionais fortalecem o sentido de valorização do presente contra o desperdício da experiência, por meio do protagonismo local, da criação de práticas singulares e das redes colaborativas afetivas na construção coletiva de trabalho. / The theme of this thesis emerged from the discomfort caused by an intense experience: the volunteer work as a psychologist in the psychosocial actions offered after the fire at a nightclub in Santa Maria/RS/Brazil, on January 27, 2013. This fact mobilized psychologists from all over the country, who started an active role together with other organizations to plan and care for families, survivors, professionals and the population in general. This critical event triggered the dismantling of prevailing and dominant knowledge in the field of Psychology, which, historically, has contributed to the psychologization and pathologization of life by creating strategies and solutions for everyday experiences. We started from the recognition of the incompleteness of knowledge itself and the possibility of fallibility of instituted knowledge. Therefore, given the necessary creation of conditions to problematize our practices, we took the fire as a starting point for rethinking forms of emergence and visibility of certain ways of psychological practice. The general objective was to investigate which psychological knowledge and practices the critical event made emerge. The specific objectives were: to map the characteristics of the psychologists who worked as volunteers after the fire at the nightclub in Santa Maria; to check the processes of meanings attributed by psychologists to psychological knowledge and practices in the voluntary care and the representational process that generated these meanings; to identify the problematizations about psychological knowledge and practices pointed out by the psychologists concerning the generated demands, and their (in)visibilities in their performance in Psychology; to analyze the absences and emergencies that the professionals identified regarding psychological knowledge and practices; to reconstruct the memories of the collective work of these psychologists/volunteers from their narratives. The methodological itinerary used different resources of gathering information, and the corpus of investigation was composed of field diary, documentary research, individual interviews and a focus group After analyzing the information, we delimited three sets of analysis: plurality of knowledge: processuality and coexistence as constituents of the field of knowledge; paths of psychological thinking from a historical-critical perspective: the construction of the field of knowledge and ways of doing politics; and emergencies of the psychological field regarding the critical event: the construction of knowledge against the waste of experience. Therefore, when we consider the critical event as an analyzing device for psychological knowledge and practices, it was possible to raise aspects that we consider to be the absences of the field of knowledge, referring to training in Psychology, to techniques and to the relation of knowledge and practices with the city and the collectives. On the other hand, the emergencies raised by the professionals strengthen the sense of valorization of the present against the waste of experience, through local protagonism, the creation of singular practices and the affective collaborative networks in the collective construction of work.

Face au déclin cognitif, à la perte progressive de l'autonomie et aux troubles du comportement accompagnant l'évolution de la maladie d'Alzheimer et des maladies apparentées (MA2), l'implication de l'aidant naturel auprès de son proche atteint s'intensifie et s'accompagne d'un fardeau. Les données de la littérature montrent que les interventions psychosociales évaluées ont un impact modeste et à court terme sur le fardeau de l'aidant. Par ailleurs, les patients âgés atteints de MA2 et leurs aidants sont exposés à un risque important d'iatrogénie médicamenteuse. L'objectif de ce travail de thèse était de concevoir une prise en soin pharmaceutique intégrée à une intervention psychosociale efficiente permettant de réduire le fardeau des aidants de patients âgés atteints de MA2. Afin de garantir l'efficience de l'intervention à concevoir, des études préalables ont été réalisées afin : (1) d'identifier les facteurs prédictifs de fardeau de l'aidant via une étude transversale, une étude longitudinale et à partir des données de la littérature ; (2) d'identifier les besoins prioritaires des aidants via une enquête Delphi incluant le domaine pharmaceutique après réalisation d'une revue systématique de la littérature ; (3) d'identifier les critères d'efficacité des interventions psychosociales et l'étendue du rôle du pharmacien auprès de la dyade patient/aidant à partir des données de la littérature. Ces différents éléments ont permis de concevoir de façon multidisciplinaire et multicentrique, le protocole de l'étude interventionnelle PHARMAID. Il s'agit d'un essai clinique randomisé, contrôlé, à trois bras parallèles, multicentrique dont l'objectif principal est d'évaluer l'impact d'un suivi pharmaceutique personnalisé intégré à une intervention psychociale sur le fardeau des aidants de patients âgés atteints de MA2 à 18 mois. A ce jour, 72 dyades patient/aidant ont été inclues, soit 30% de l'effectif attendu. Si l'intervention psychosociale combinée ou non aux soins pharmaceutiques de l'étude PHARMAID s'avère efficace, sa pérénnité dans les centres participants et son extension au sein des autres centres mémoires, des services de neurologie ou de gériatrie pourront être envisagées. L'étude médico-économique associée permettra d'estimer les coûts engagés par la mise en place d'une telle intervention, tout en prenant en compte les coûts directs de consommation de soins / Alzheimer’s disease and Related Disorders (ADRD) are associated with a caregiver burden that increases with the progression of the disease. Previous psychosocial interventions reported a moderate improvement on caregiver burden. Patients with ADRD and their caregivers are also exposed to higher risk of developing drug-related problems.Our objective was to design an integrated pharmaceutical care at a multidisciplinary psychosocial intervention that reduces the caregiver burden of aged patient with ADRD.To guarantee the effectiveness of the intervention, preliminary studies were conducted to: (1) identify predicting factors that increase the caregiver burden through a cross-sectional study, a longitudinal study and from a literature review ; (2) to identify the prioritized caregivers’ needs through a Delphi survey, including the pharmaceutical field, after conducting a systematic review of the literature; (3) to identify the effectiveness criteria of psychosocial interventions and the extent of the pharmacist's role with the patient / caregiver dyad from a literature review. Our work leaded to design, in a multidisciplinary and multicentric way, the protocol of the PHARMAID study. The PHARMAID study is a 18-month randomized, controlled, with three parallel groups, and multi-center trial. The primary objective is to measure the impact of personalized pharmaceutical collaborative care integrated to a multidisciplinary psychosocial intervention on the caregiver burden of aged patient with ADRD. To date, 72 dyads have been included, representing 30% of the expected sample. If the effectiveness of this collaborative approach is demonstrated, its durability in the participating centers and its extension in the other memory centers, neurology or geriatric wards could be considered. The costs and the cost-effectiveness of different interventions will also be evaluated through detailed analyses of formal and informal resource consumption during the study

This dissertation is focused on mapping the needs and development of experiencing the prenatal loss integration process in mothers, whose child died during the second or the third pregnancy trimester or suffered stillbirth. The goal of this dissertation is to suggest optimal intervention, which would prevent the progress of complications in terms of psychological disorders (PTSD, PAS). The theoretical part describes prenatal loss from the aspect of incidence and etiology and the loss of a close relative in general. It also focuses on the specifics of prenatal loss, the topic of crisis and its experience, phases of crisis, definition of the term "psychosocial intervention" and demarcation of its existing forms. This part also offers several perspectives and attitudes to the topic of grief as a process of hard life experience integration. It also describes several phases and problems connected with their fulfillment. The empirical part focuses on surveying the experiences and needs of women, who have suffered with prenatal loss. It also follows the approaches and circumstances, means of support, which helped women to cope with such an experience. It also tries to identify such aspects, which hindered this acceptation or made it more complicated. Research inquiry involves 13 depth interviews, which...

Este estudo consiste em uma análise crítica sobre uma intervenção focada na melhoria da adesão de pessoas vivendo com aids ao tratamento antirretroviral, construída com base nas proposições da psicologia social construcionista, do referencial do Cuidado e do quadro da vulnerabilidade e dos direitos humanos. Essa intervenção foi testada pela primeira vez em um serviço de referência em DST/AIDS do estado de São Paulo, tendo sido conduzida por três profissionais de saúde previamente capacitadas, junto a pacientes em tratamento na instituição. Com o objetivo de descrever essa experiência e de compreender a viabilidade da condução da intervenção no contexto do SUS, por profissionais de diferentes especialidades, as três profissionais que integraram o estudo foram entrevistadas em profundidade, individualmente e em grupo. As entrevistas abordaram as reflexões das participantes sobre o processo de capacitação e a experiência prática na intervenção, incluindo seus relatos sobre os encontros que realizaram com os pacientes como parte da intervenção. Na discussão, enfocamos as principais facilidades e dificuldades encontradas pelas participantes ao longo do processo; as repercussões percebidas para sua atuação profissional e para o tratamento dos pacientes; e os desafios e sugestões levantados para uma futura implantação da intervenção em outros serviços. A proposta de intervenção mostrou-se factível do ponto de vista das profissionais que a conduziram e trouxe importantes reflexões para as práticas na área da assistência às pessoas vivendo com aids, contribuindo para o debate sobre as concepções teóricas e metodológicas que fundamentam as ações voltadas para a melhoria da adesão ao tratamento antirretroviral / This study presents a critical analysis of an intervention that sought to improve adherence of people living with aids to antiretroviral treatment based on the propositions of the social constructionist psychology, the Care reference and the vulnerability and human rights framework. This intervention was tested for the first time in an STD/AIDS reference service in the state of Sao Paulo. It was conducted by three previously trained health workers, along with patients undergoing treatment at the institution. Aiming to describe this experience and to understand the feasibility of the interventions conduction within SUS by workers from different areas, the three health workers who were part of the study were invited to answer to individual and group in-depth interviews. The interviews approached participants considerations regarding interventions training process and practical experience, including their reports about the meetings they held with patients as part of the intervention. In the discussion, we focused on the positive aspects and the main difficulties faced by participants throughout the process; the perceived results concerning their work practice and the patients treatment; and the challenges and suggestions proposed for a future implementation of the intervention in other services. The intervention was considered feasible from the health workers point of view and it brought important considerations about the practice developed to assist people living with aids, contributing to the debate concerning the theoretical and methodological conceptions that underlie the actions directed to improve the adherence to antiretroviral therapy

«Bien dans mes Baskets» (BdmB) est un programme d’intervention psychosociale utilisant le basketball parascolaire comme outil de prévention du décrochage scolaire et de la délinquance chez des adolescents en difficulté ou présentant plusieurs facteurs de risque. Le programme a comme objectifs généraux de prévenir le décrochage scolaire, la délinquance et l’exclusion sociale. La présente étude a comme principaux objectifs d’explorer le processus de construction du sentiment d’appartenance à l’équipe et à l’école des athlètes-étudiants participant au programme BdmB et d’examiner le lien entre le sentiment d’appartenance à l’équipe et à l’école chez ces derniers. Des entretiens semi-directifs ont été réalisés auprès d’un échantillon aléatoire de 21 athlètes-étudiants de sexe masculin inscrits dans le programme BdmB. Nous avons choisis au hasard sept athlètes-étudiants dans trois équipes de catégories d’âge différentes (atome, cadet et juvénile) afin de mettre en évidence la progression potentielle du sentiment d’appartenance dans le temps. Le verbatim des entretiens enregistrés a été transcrit afin de procéder à une analyse inspirée de la théorisation ancrée. Les résultats permettent l’identification de trois conditions qui paraissent jouer un rôle déterminant dans la construction du sentiment d’appartenance, soit : 1) le partage d’expériences communes significatives, 2) la valorisation de la pratique du basketball au sein de BdmB, et 3) le climat de l’équipe et du programme. Ces conditions découlent de l’interaction et du cumul de nombreux facteurs individuels et interpersonnels ainsi que de facteurs liés au programme. Pour certains athlètes-étudiants, le basketball parascolaire semble même favoriser la motivation scolaire. Pour plusieurs, le sentiment d’appartenance à l’équipe est indissociable du sentiment d’appartenance à l’école. / "Bien dans mes Baskets" (BdmB) is a psychosocial intervention program using basketball as a tool to prevent school dropout and delinquency among adolescents in difficulty or at risk. The general goals of the program are to prevent school dropout, delinquency and social exclusion. This study has two main objectives: 1) investigate the construction process of a sense of belonging to the team and to the school among athlete-students participating in BdmB, and 2) explore the potential connection between the basketball players' sense of team belonging and sense of school belonging. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 21 male student-athletes enrolled in the program BdmB. We randomly selected seven student-athletes in three teams of different age categories (atome, cadet and juvénile) to highlight the potential progression of the sense of belonging over time. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim in order to conduct an analysis inspired by grounded theory. The results allow the identification of three conditions that appear to play a key role in the construction of a sense of belonging: 1) the sharing of meaningful group experiences, 2) the valorization of playing basketball in BdmB, and 3) the team and program climate. These conditions arise from the interaction and combination of many individual factors, interpersonal factors and program factors. For some athlete-students, afterschool basketball seems to encourage academic motivation. For most of the athlete-students, their sense of team belonging is tantamount to their sense of school belonging.

Implanté en 1999 dans le quartier Centre-Sud à Montréal, le programme d'intervention psychosociale « Bien dans mes baskets » (BdmB) utilise le basketball comme outil pour entrer en contact avec des jeunes à risque de délinquance. Ce programme se distingue par le fait que ses entraîneurs-travailleurs-sociaux (ETS) interviennent tant dans le développement d'habiletés de vie que d’habiletés sportives. La présente étude vise à comprendre comment les expériences vécues au sein de BdmB ont pu contribuer au développement d’habiletés de vie chez les adolescents qui ont participé au programme lorsqu’ils étaient à l’école secondaire. Une méthodologie rétrospective qualitative a été utilisée pour cette étude. Des entretiens semi-dirigés ont été effectués auprès de 14 anciens athlètes-étudiants (AÉ) masculins qui ont participé à BdmB pendant leurs études secondaires. Le verbatim des entretiens enregistrés a été transcrit afin de procéder à une analyse de contenu par thématique. Les résultats suggèrent que quatre principaux facteurs semblent contribuer au développement d’habiletés de vie chez certains participants : le modelage de l’ETS a permis aux AÉ de reproduire les comportements de leur entraîneur; le développement d’un sentiment d’attachement entre les joueurs a engendré la création d’un nouveau réseau social dans lequel les AÉ ont pu trouver du soutien social; une culture d’équipe influencée par la philosophie de BdmB semble avoir été intériorisée par les joueurs; et BdmB a agi dans certains cas comme facteur de protection contre des influences externes négatives. Les résultats suggèrent que le sport collectif combiné à des interventions psychosociales favoriserait le développement d’habiletés de vie. / The “Bien dans mes baskets” (BdmB) program, implemented in 1999 in a high school of Montreal, uses basketball to reach adolescents at risk of delinquency. The distinctive characteristic of BdmB is that the coaches are also social workers (CSW) who implement strategies to develop life skills among athlete-students (AS) who partake in the basketball extracurricular program. The aim of this study was to examine how the experiences lived through BdmB contributed to the development of life skills in young adults who have participated in the program when they were in high school. We used a retrospective qualitative study design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 young adults who were involved in the BdmB program during their high school. Interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A thematic content analysis of participants' accounts was performed to identify the specific role of team sport involvement with psychosocial interventions on the alumni players’ life skills development. The results suggest that 4 main factors contributed to life skills development in AS: modeling the CSW who epitomize the BdmB philosophy enables AS to emulate their coach’s behaviors; bonding between AS creates a new social network in which AS can find social support; a BdmB culture is internalized by sharing experiences among the BdmB AS and the CSW; BdmB has a protective effect against negative influences from the high-risk milieu in which AS live. The results suggest that team sports combined with psychosocial interventions has the potential to foster life skills development in youth at risk.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Os Transtornos Mentais Comuns (TMC), especialmente ansiedade e depressão, são altamente prevalentes, independentemente das dificuldades com a sua classificação. Na Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS), representada no Brasil pela Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF), essas condições são pouco detectadas e tratadas, o que resulta em sobrecarga para pacientes, famílias e comunidades, além de prejuízos sociais e econômicos. Tal situação pode ser atenuada integrando-se cuidados de saúde mental à atenção básica. Nesse sentido, objetivou-se identificar e analisar as intervenções psicossociais voltadas para o cuidado do sofrimento psíquico e dos TMC atualmente empregadas na APS, no Brasil e no exterior. Para isso, foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica da literatura nacional e internacional através das bases de dados MEDLINE/PubMed e LILACS/BVS. As intervenções identificadas foram reunidas em dois grupos. No primeiro, incluíram-se as intervenções com formato tradicional em que um profissional graduado conduz o tratamento presencialmente, enquanto no segundo grupo foram alocados os arranjos diferenciados em que o contato com o profissional é reduzido e seu papel é mais o de facilitar do que de liderar o tratamento, tal como nas intervenções com o uso de mão de obra leiga em saúde, suporte ao autocuidado, e sistemas automatizados ou pacotes de tratamento informatizados oferecidos via internet. Teoricamente, Terapia Interpessoal, Terapia Cognitivo-comportamental e Terapia de Solução de Problemas embasaram as intervenções. Na APS internacional, as intervenções são breves e bastante estruturadas, incluindo um plano de ação definido em um manual de aplicação. Na Estratégia de Saúde da Família destacaram-se as intervenções grupais e a Terapia Comunitária, modelo especialmente desenvolvido por brasileiros. Verificou-se que os TMC ganham visibilidade à medida que a APS se consolida no território e próxima à população. No exterior, a integração da saúde mental na APS é um processo em consolidação e há crescente tecnificação das intervenções psicossociais, enquanto, no Brasil, a aproximação da APS com a ESF é recente e não há um padrão de atuação consolidado. Resultados insuficientes ou controversos impediram concluir quais são as melhores intervenções, porém a alta prevalência dos TMC e o potencial de cuidado do setor da APS exigem que as pesquisas continuem. / Psychosocial interventions for Common Mental Disorders in Primary Health Care. Common mental disorders (CMD), especially anxiety and depression, are highly prevalent, in spite of difficulties in their classification. In Primary Health Care (PHC), represented in Brazil by Family Health Strategy (Estratégia de Saúde da Família), these conditions are not well detected, or treated. This results in burden for the patients, their families and communities, as well as causes social and economic losses. Integrating mental health care into primary care can diminish this situation. In this sense, the goal is to identify and analyze different kinds of psychosocial interventions currently adopted in PHC locally and internationally in order to provide care for mental suffering and CMD. Accordingly, a national and international literature review was conducted through LILACS and MEDLINE bibliographic databases. The identified interventions were gathered in two groups. In the first, was the more traditional type of treatment where a qualified professional performs the treatment face-to-face, while the second group was made of different arrangements where contact with the professional was reduced and his role was more of a facilitator than that of a leader, such as interventions that utilize lay people in healthcare roles, support for self-help, and automated systems or electronic treatment packages offered on the internet. Theoretically, Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive-behavioral Therapy and Problem Solving Therapy anchored the interventions. In international PHC, the interventions are short and very structured, including a plan of action defined in a user manual. In Family Health Strategy, it was group interventions and Community Therapy (Terapia Comunitária) that stood out, which is a model developed in Brazil. It was verified that CMD gain more visibility as PHC gains more ground and establishes itself closer to the population. In foreign countries, the integration of mental healthcare in PHC is a process that is being consolidated and there is an increase in technical psychosocial interventions, while in Brazil, the tie between PHC and Family Health Strategy is more recent and there isnt a standard of actions set in place. Insufficient or controversial results made it impossible to arrive at a conclusion as to which are the best interventions, however the prevalence of CMD and the potential for care in PHC demand that the research continues.

Nous avons peu d’informations sur les interactions sociales des personnes démentes en institution et sur les effets des interventions psychosociales sur leurs interactions sociales, qui sont favorables à une bonne qualité de vie et à un bon fonctionnement cognitif. 56 résidents d’une maison de retraite vivant avec une démence ont été observés par vidéo, afin d’analyser leurs comportements sociaux et de valider une grille d’observation des interactions sociales : le Social Observation Residents Index (SOBRI). 36 résidents ont bénéficié d’une séance de stimulation psychosociale. Leurs scores au SOBRI ont été comparés à ceux d’un groupe contrôle. La validation du SOBRI met en évidence deux profils de comportements : interactions sociales avec les résidents et avec les soignants. Une séance de stimulation psychosociale favorise significativement les interactions sociales avec les soignants. Des tendances positives sont observées dans les deux groupes sur les interactions sociales entre les résidents. Les résidents vivant avec une démence interagissent spontanément entre eux et avec les soignants. La stimulation psychosociale favorise les interactions avec les soignants. Une stimulation, quelle que soit son intensité, stimule les interactions entre les résidents. Ces résultats doivent être confirmés dans l'objectif de développer des programmes favorisant l’inclusion sociale en institution. / We have little information about the nature of social interactions of people with dementia living in nursing homes and about effectiveness of psychosocial intervention on social interactions. We know that social interactions promote a good quality of life and a good cognitive functioning. 56 residents with dementia living in a nursing home were observed by video to analyse their social behaviours and to validate an observation grid of social interactions, the Social Observation Residents Index (SOBRI). 36 residents received a session of psychosocial stimulation. Their scores on the SOBRI were compared to those of a control group. The validation of the SOBRI highlighted two profiles of behaviours: social interactions with other residents and with care staff. One session of psychosocial stimulation promotes significantly social interactions with care staff. Positives trends are observed in both groups in terms of increase of social interactions with other residents. Residents with dementia interact spontaneously with other residents and with care staff. Psychosocial stimulation promotes social interactions with care staff. A stimulation, regardless its intensity, seems to stimulate social interactions between residents. Future studies are needed to confirm these trends and to develop programs promoting social inclusion in nursing homes.

This study addresses the importance of studies of human psychoneuroimmunology in understanding the role of psychological factors in cancer. Research trends in psychosocial aspects of cancer are reviewed, exploring the role of distress and the support group as an intervention which potentially reduces distress through enhancing interpersonal relationships, emotional adjustment and communication with health professionals, in these ways helping the patient to cope with the symptoms of treatment. In South Africa, most hospitals which treat cancer patients medically do not simultaneously have support groups for the newly diagnosed patient to join in order to discuss immediate fears and acquire more knowledge about their particular disease. Following an experimental cancer support group involving patients who had recently undergone a bone marrow transplant (some considerable time after their first cancer diagnosis) in Cape Town's Groote Schuur Hospital, the researcher, as one of the participants in the fortnightly meetings convened to dicuss psychosocial issues related to each patient's experience of the cancer and transplant process, transferred the themes, concepts and questions that arose in that scenario, to a cancer clinic in Pretoria where recently diagnosed patients were asked to volunteer to participate in such a group. It was felt that these patients would derive some benefit early in their treatment programme. Psychosocial concerns are left to the individual patient to seek therapy should it be required. Presently, it is reported in the body of knowledge about cancer, that interventions aimed at alleviating the psychosocial distress of cancer patients highlight hypnosis, guided imagery and relaxation therapy. It is contended that a more appropriate intervention for the majority of people with cancer in South Africa would entail a fellow-patient support group meeting on a regular basis. / Psychology / (M.A. (Psychology)