Couple therapy for cancer survivors.

Interventions: Cancer survivors in the experimental group will receive the intervention, which will consist of 12 face-to-face therapeutic EFT sessions, complemented with ODA. During treatment, the couple learns to recognize the cycle of defensive strategies that each partner uses to cope with threats. These strategies are validated and normalized, and not the person but the cycle is framed as the cause of the emotional problems and the issue that needs to be resolved. The therapist helps both partners to uncover the primary emotions that underlie their defensive strategies and to express these and their personal emotional needs in a more constructive way. Moreover, the adjuvant ODA offers tailored suggestions for behavioral actions to implement the EFCT elements into their daily lives. The ODA starts in the second half of the EFT therapy.
Participants in the waiting list control group will receive an empathetic telephone session with one of the researchers in order to provide some control for a possible attention-placebo effect. For this same purpose, they will also receive a digital or printed booklet with relevant questions about dyadic coping, relational functioning, intimacy and cancer. They are offered EFCT-ODA upon completion of post-treatment assessment.
Primary outcome(s): 1. Dyadic coping
2. Marital Satisfaction
Dyadic coping will be measured with the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS). The RDAS is a 14-item self-report measure of dyadic coping and relational adjustment in steady couples. Marital satisfaction will be measured with the Maudsley Marital Questionnaire (MMQ). The MMQ is a 20-item self-report questionnaire. Both primary outcomes will be assessed at all time points.
Study Design: Randomized controlled trial, Open (masking not used), Active, Parallel