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Abstract
Introduction. Increasing the availability of psychotherapeutic care for breast cancer (BC) patients can be achieved through the use of online platforms, but the algorithm for organizing such sessions and their impact on patients has not been studied.
Aim. Organize and conduct online psychological group sessions with BC patients.
Materials and Methods. 65 BC patients aged 21 to 82 years, living in different regions of Russia, voluntarily participated in online meetings and agreed to the rules of group psychotherapy in the proposed format. The group was open, and patients were free to join at any time, depending on their needs and the issues being discussed. The sessions were held weekly in the evening, online, on the Russian online platform "Remote Rehabilitation and Habilitation". A total of 25 sessions were held from May to November 2024, each lasting 2-2.5 hours. Cognitive-behavioral interventions were used.
Results. Patients' issues were highlighted for discussion in 4 areas: informing about their illness; changing their lifestyle after treatment; physical and mental functioning; planning for the future. The number of participants in each session varied. The most effective groups were those with 7-9 women at a time. At the end of the project, 4 (6.2%) of the women had already returned to work and 7 (10.8%) planned to return to work. All women reported an improvement in their emotional state, while 27 (41.5%) reported an improvement in their physical state.
Conclusion. Participants in the study reported that the online group sessions were helpful in improving their psycho-emotional state and communication skills, as well as increasing awareness of recovery issues after treatment.
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