Evaluating Somatic Experiencing ® to Heal Cancer Trauma: First Evidence with Breast Cancer Survivors.

Somatic Experiencing ® is a bio-psychological method for the treatment and prevention of trauma and chronic stress, which has never been investigated with breast cancer (BC) survivors. Eight weeks of web-based synchronous group sessions were structured between April and June 2022. Potential participants were recruited using a convenience sampling approach and through the collaboration of a public hospital in northern Italy and a non-profit association of BC women. Thirty-five eligible participants were enrolled and divided into an intervention group (n = 21) and a control group (n = 14). Anxiety, depression, distress (HADS), coping strategies (Mini-MAC), trauma reworking skills (PACT), and body image (BIS) were assessed at T0 and after 8 weeks (T1). Qualitative items concerning the most significant moments and learnings were completed at T1 by the intervention group. An independent t -test confirmed no between-group psychological differences at T0. As hypothesized, paired-sample t -tests showed decreases in anxiety, depression, distress ( p < 0.05), and anxious preoccupation coping strategy ( p < 0.001), but also improvements in forward focus ( p < 0.05) and body image ( p < 0.001) in the intervention group. The controls worsened over time with increases in hopeless/helplessness ( p < 0.001) and avoidance ( p < 0.05) coping strategies. Textual analyses extracted five dominant themes that summarized the meaning of the experience for participants. The preliminary results suggest the effectiveness of the intervention.