Mindfulness-based Supportive Therapy (MBST): Proposing a Palliative Psychotherapy from a Conceptual Perspective to Address Suffering in Palliative Care

Objective: To develop a mindfulness-based palliative psychotherapy to address psychoexistential suffering in palliative care.

Conceptualization: First, a theory of suffering was formulated by merging 2 models of suffering from 2 thematic analyses of 20 palliative care patients and 15 informal caregivers. Second, the results from a secondary thematic analysis of suffering caused by health care interactions were conceptualized into a psychotherapy framework. Third, principles of mindfulness were incorporated into the framework to form a mindfulness-based psychotherapy.

Results: Mindfulness-based supportive therapy (MBST) was developed with the following 5 components of presence, listening, empathy, compassion, and boundary awareness.

Conclusion: We believe that MBST is a potentially useful psychological intervention in palliative care, specifically designed to address psychoexistential suffering of terminally ill patients.