The effectiveness of reminiscence therapy on the symptom management, the life satisfaction, and the self-transcendence in palliative care patients: a randomized controlled trial.
Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer June 14, 2024 Canan Bozkurt, Yasemin Yildirim
In a palliative care service in western Turkey, 44 patients without cognitive impairment were randomly assigned to reminiscence therapy, unstructured social interviewing, or a control group. Over eight sessions across two weeks, reminiscence therapy did not reduce physical or total symptom burden. General distress and psychological symptoms decreased within both the reminiscence and placebo groups, but differences between all groups were not significant. Life satisfaction and self-transcendence increased substantially in the reminiscence therapy group compared to the other groups. The therapy may contribute positively to psychological recovery in palliative care patients approaching the end of life.