One-time 60-minute counseling session to reduce depression, anxiety, and distress in people with breast cancer
Piloting Single Session Consultation for Cancer (SSC-C) to Alleviate Distress Among Breast Cancer Patients
This program will test whether a single 60-minute counseling session can help reduce depression, anxiety, and distress for adults with breast cancer who are waiting for outpatient psychotherapy.
Quick facts
| Phase | Not applicable |
|---|---|
| Study type | Interventional |
| Enrollment | 20 (estimated) |
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | Female |
| Sponsor | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Academic / other |
| Locations | 7 sites (Basking Ridge, New Jersey and 6 other locations) |
| Trial ID | NCT07218250 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this trial studies
The intervention delivers a single, 60-minute counseling session (Single Counseling Session for Cancer) plus an American Cancer Society booklet to adults with breast cancer who are on a waitlist for MSK outpatient psychotherapy. Participants are female, age 18 or older, English-speaking, living in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, and without active suicidal ideation or major psychiatric instability. The study measures changes in psychosocial distress, anxiety and depression symptoms, and quality of life, and also tracks feasibility and acceptability of the one-session program. Sessions are audio-recorded for fidelity and the intervention is completed before participants begin routine Counseling Center care.
Who should consider this trial
Good fit: Adult female patients with pathologically confirmed localized or advanced breast cancer who are waiting at least two weeks for MSK Counseling Center intake, speak English fluently, live in NY/NJ/CT, and have no active suicidal ideation are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Patients with active suicidal ideation or significant acute psychiatric disturbance, males, non-English speakers, those already receiving outpatient psychotherapy, or those living outside New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut are unlikely to benefit from this one-session program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, a single session could provide quick, accessible relief from distress and improve quality of life while patients wait for longer-term psychotherapy.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research on single-session psychosocial interventions in cancer populations has shown mixed but generally promising short-term reductions in distress, so this approach builds on existing, partially validated methods.
Eligibility criteria
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Patient must have pathologically confirmed breast cancer (per EMR). * Patient with localized or advanced cancer (per EMR). * Patient is on a waitlist of at least 2 weeks or more for MSK Counseling Center intake and will not complete a Counseling Center intake prior to intervention (these patients will be replaced) (per EMR, patient's care team, or self-report). * Has no current active or passive suicidal ideation (per self-report of PHQ-9, Item 9: Thoughts that you would be better off dead, or of hurting yourself). * Female (per EMR) * Age ≥ 18 (per EMR) * English fluency - Per self-report: How well do you speak English? * Agrees to be audio-recorded (per self-report) NOTE: Participants who report Very well are considered fluent. * Lives in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut (per self-report). * Has no significant psychiatric disturbance sufficient to preclude completion of the assessment measures, interview, or informed consent (i.e., acute psychiatric symptoms which require urgent or extended individual treatment) (per EMR, patient's care team, or study team). * Has no presence of cognitive impairment disorder (i.e., delirium or dementia) sufficient to preclude meaningful informed consent and/or data collection (per EMR, patient's care team, or per self-report of BOMC cognitive test). * Has no current active or passive suicidal ideation (per item 9 of the PHQ-9 and the CSSRS).
Where this trial is running
Basking Ridge, New Jersey and 6 other locations
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge (Consent Only) — Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States (Recruiting)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth (Consent Only) — Middletown, New Jersey, United States (Recruiting)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Bergen (Consent Only) — Montvale, New Jersey, United States (Recruiting)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Suffolk- Commack (Consent Only) — Commack, New York, United States (Recruiting)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Westchester (Consent Only) — Harrison, New York, United States (Recruiting)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (All Protocol Activities) — New York, New York, United States (Recruiting)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Nassau (Consent Only) — Uniondale, New York, United States (Recruiting)
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Devika Jutagir, PhD — Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Study coordinator: Devika Jutagir, PhD
- Email: jutagird@mskcc.org
- Phone: 646-888-8361
How to participate
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Visit the official trial page on ClinicalTrials.gov for the most current contact information and recruitment status.
- Contact the listed study coordinator or principal investigator to request pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.