Narrative of “Here-and-Now”: Cancer Survivors in a Group Psychotherapy Using SCT® (Systems-Centered Therapy)1,2

Abstract

This study focused on “here-and-now” narrative and examined the process of group psychotherapy for cancer survivors using systems-centered therapy (SCT). In contemporary society, cancer survivors have a vital need for psychological support, and group psychotherapy and peer support are used as part of this need. In most of these interventions, participants are encouraged to speak freely and share their experience of cancer. This generally means speaking about “there-and-then” experience. It has been argued that one reason that narrative therapy produces a psychological effect is that the meaning of an experience changes when the experience is spoken about. SCT differs significantly from other group interventions in that it requires participants to talk about their here-and-now experience through the format of SCT's “functional subgrouping.” Functional subgrouping requires participants to listen, reflect, and build on similarities in their experience. In this study, we qualitatively examined how participants' experiences unfolded in the SCT group by directly addressing the group process. The study findings revealed that even though the participants did not directly share their cancer experiences in the group, they experienced an inexplicable sense of connectedness that had a positive psychological effect on them. They also experienced deep emotions through talking while using the SCT narrative style. In the process, the effects of the SCT narrative were discussed.