Dr Pandora Patterson
CanTeen Australia, NSW
Mental Health Research Grant 2012
Dr Pandora Patterson is General Manager of Research, Evaluation and Social Policy at CanTeen, the Australian Organisation for Young People Living with Cancer and is a member of the leadership team. Her experience in working with young people in a clinical setting has spanned over 20 years, commencing with Mission Australia working with homeless youth, and Dr Patterson has been a registered psychologist for 15 years.
Dr Patterson has worked for 6 years as a researcher in the area of psycho-oncology, disseminating her work in peer reviewed journal articles and national and international conferences. She recently led the development of the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology Psychosocial Care Manual which was one of the national projects under the Federally funded Youth Cancer Networks Program initiative. The manual is to be used by AYA lead sites around Australia in routine screening, assessing, and care plan development for AYAs with cancer.
Dr Patterson has been developing a body of knowledge to better understand the impact of cancer on young people and their family members. Working with her research team in collaboration with Sydney University, they are the first to develop a measure to assess the psychosocial unmet needs of young people who have a parent with cancer and have recently completed a similar measure for young people who have a sibling with cancer. The research with young people who have a parent with cancer was the first study to comprehensively investigate their needs and identify disturbingly high levels of psychological distress. The results of this research assisted CanTeen in gaining a substantial grant to set up counselling services for this group of young people and facilitate changes to program and service delivery within CanTeen, including the development of resources to address need gaps.
SUMMARY OF PROJECT:
An individually randomised group treatment controlled trial of Truce: An ACT based psychological intervention for young people who have a parent with cancer
Discovering a parent has cancer is a very daunting and distressing experience for adolescents and young adults, particularly as they are at the peak age for risk of mental health problems. The discovery can challenge the development of coping skills and negatively impact long-term quality of life. Despite disproportionate levels of psychological distress and a documented unmet need for psychological support, no rigorously evaluated, skills-based interventions are currently available to meet the psychological needs of young people who have a parent with cancer.
Our team therefore developed Truce, an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy based intervention with the aims of improving the mental health of young people who have a parent with cancer and improving family functioning. This intervention will be assessed utilising an individually randomised group treatment controlled trial. Specifically, we will examine the efficacy of Truce in improving the mental health and family functioning of young people aged 14 – 22 who have a parent with cancer. CanTeen is well placed to run this project as it is the key national support organisation for young people who have a parent with cancer and has research and clinical expertise in this area. Truce has the potential to avoid many years of mental health problems by building resilience in young people through the skills learnt to successfully deal with their parent’s cancer and other potentially psychologically distressing situations in life. Ultimately, the value of Truce will be in significantly changing the lives of young people who participate and the follow on effect this will have on their families and communities in the long-term.