Caring-Healing Modalities Show Promise for Cancer Survivors’ Emotional Wellbeing
A recent scoping review from Florida Atlantic University (FAU) highlights the positive impact of “Caring-Healing Modalities” (CHMs) on the emotional health and resilience of cancer survivors. Published in Nursing Reports, the review analyzed existing research to understand how thes interventions - wich prioritize human connection and holistic care – can address emotional distress experienced by individuals navigating a cancer diagnosis and beyond.
The research team, led by joanna Kociolek, Ph.D., found that CHMs, encompassing a range of approaches, offer a valuable avenue for survivors to process their experiences and begin to heal emotionally. A key finding was the importance of the environment itself; interventions that fostered peaceful settings allowed people “to breathe, reflect and begin to mend emotionally,” with the setting becoming an integral part of the therapeutic process, according to Rita Gengo, Ph.D., co-author and assistant professor at FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.
Group-based interventions, whether delivered in person or online, proved particularly effective. These sessions provided supportive spaces for survivors to share their stories, combat feelings of isolation, and cultivate inner strength. Researchers noted a strong alignment between many CHMs and Jean Watson’s Caritas Processes – a set of nursing principles centered on compassion, trust-building, and care-centered teaching.
Watson’s Caritas Processes emphasize a holistic approach to patient care,focusing on the interconnectedness of mind,body,and spirit. They prioritize empathy, dignity, and respect, encouraging healthcare professionals to be fully present and foster healing beyond purely physical treatments.
“caring-healing modalities grounded in human connection offer something profoundly transformative,” explained Lenny Chiang-Hanisko, Ph.D., co-author and associate professor at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.”Through caring partnerships, people can access a deeper sense of self, expand their emotional capacity, and awaken their innate ability to heal.”
The review also identified the frequent incorporation of mindfulness-based techniques, including Mindfulness-Based Stress reduction, Mindful Self-Compassion, and Attention and Interpretation Therapy. These practices encouraged participants to cultivate present moment awareness, acknowledge emotions without judgment, and develop resilience and self-compassion, ultimately reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression.
A meaningful benefit of CHMs is their adaptability. They were delivered through various formats - face-to-face, online, or a hybrid model – increasing accessibility across diverse care settings. intervention lengths varied from brief 20-30 minute sessions to more extended programs spanning months, with both short-term and long-term approaches demonstrating clinical value.Longer programs, however, more closely mirrored Watson’s emphasis on sustained caring-healing relationships.
Beyond emotional wellbeing, studies reported improvements in quality of life, self-compassion, physical symptoms like fatigue, insomnia, and pain, and even stress-related biomarkers. This integration of subjective experience with objective data positions CHMs as a pathway toward “precision nursing” that values both scientific rigor and the individual’s lived experience.
“By bringing together personal experience and biological insight, we’re creating a future were care is deeply individualized,” Kociolek stated. “It’s a vision of nursing that’s both scientifically rigorous and profoundly human.”
The review also highlighted areas for future research.Current studies are limited for certain cancers, such as prostate and colorectal cancer, and funding for complementary therapies remains a challenge.The researchers advocate for expanded research, increased reimbursement for these modalities, and their integration into standard cancer survivorship care.
Source: Florida Atlantic University. https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/cancer-survivor-support
Journal Reference: Kociolek, J., et al. (2025). Caring-Healing Modalities for Emotional Distress and Resilience in Persons with Cancer: A Scoping Review. Nursing Reports. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15090334
