Dr Kristen McCarter from Hunter Medical Research Institute and the University of Newcastle is a Clinical Psychologist leading a study into supporting the emotional wellbeing of carers of people with advanced cancer.
Dr McCarter has lived experience of caring for her father, who had colorectal cancer. He spent one month in Calvary Mercy Hospice at The Calvary Mater hospital in Newcastle. At the time, Dr McCarter was 29 years old and doing her PhD, based at the Centre for Brain and Mental Health Research at the Mater, staying overnight with her father and then also seeing a psychologist at the Psycho-oncology Service at the hospital. She felt like she spent her whole life there.
What she says she wasn’t prepared for is the fact that, even in palliative care, sometimes there’s nothing that can be done to ease a patient’s pain. This was the case for her father.
After his death, Dr McCarter says that she experienced post-traumatic symptoms and intrusive memories.
This spurred her on to research the creation of support models for carers of people with advanced cancer.
The iACT study – that stands for Information and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy – is a clinical
exploration of a mode of therapy that helps people handle difficulty and painful thoughts and feelings and live a values-based life. The study uses specially designed self-help workbooks combined with support ‘check-ins’ from a psychologist and a Facebook support group.
The workbooks were designed and used by Dr Esther Davis (a clinical psychologist) in her PhD, and the iACT study has added more support check-ins (via text, phone and/or email) and access to a peer support group facilitated with Dr McCarter. The study also includes information resources on topics related to caring for someone with advanced cancer.
Dr McCarter says they are testing the model of care to make it more flexible and supportive but low resource intensive to make it affordable to deliver.
The ultimate goal is to get iACT introduced into Palliative Care units and Psycho-Oncology services as a supplementary support for carers.
The iACT program deals with reducing the distress that comes with difficult and painful thoughts and feelings and also connecting with values and pursuing what is meaningful.
The ‘i’ in the program is all about providing useful, relevant information that connects people to supports.
The study is currently open and Dr McCarter is seeking interested participants that are carers for people with advanced cancer. To find out more or sign up, visit the iACT For Carers website at https://iactforcarers.com/
