At last, here is a comprehensive guide for practitioners who work with breast cancer patients and their families. It includes a series of psychosocial interventions to be used with couples during early stage breast cancer. Chapters present information on assessing the levels of stress in these couples and on the most appropriate interventions for this problem. There is extensive evidence that emotional and social support positively influences women's abilities to cope to breast cancer. The first person that a woman with breast cancer turns to for support is her husband or intimate partner. However, as partners of breast cancer patients are struggling with their emotional distress, helplessness, and anxiety with the diagnosis, they often feel inadequate about their ability to help their wives and partners cope. It is important for practitioners to understand this concept of twofold stress.

Autorentext

Karen Kayser, Professor, specializes in health psychology, social work in medical settings, intervention research, and couples therapy. She is the principal investigator of "Skills Training for Breast Cancer Patients and Their Partners" (funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Breast Cancer Research Program).

Recently she co-organized the "International Meeting on the Developmental Course of Couples Coping with Stress" (supported by a grant from the American Psychological Association, Science Directorate). She teaches courses on family theories and research, couples therapy, and social work practice with women. She received her B.A. from Michigan State University and her M.S.W. and Ph.D. (Social Work & Psychology) from the University of Michigan.