Narrative Therapy: A Systematic Review of Efficacy and Effectiveness for Improving Biopsychosocial Outcomes in People...

Narrative therapy is a postmodern, culturally responsive approach to psychotherapy that may be well suited for people affected by cancer. However, evidence for its use is unclear with previous reviews focusing on qualitative outcomes, specific approaches, or specific outcomes.

To conduct a systematic review to determine the efficacy/effectiveness of narrative therapy for people with cancer, and the factors which influence biopsychosocial treatment outcomes.

We conducted comprehensive searches of Medline, PsycInfo, Embase, Web of Science and Google Scholar to identify relevant studies and conducted a systematic review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. Studies were included in the review if they investigated a narrative therapy intervention in a sample of adults (over 18 years) with cancer, reported biopsychosocial outcomes through primary quantitative data, and were published from 1990 onwards.

Nine studies met the inclusion criteria. All studies were RCTs or quasi-experimental and considered to have high risk of bias in multiple aspects of study design. Results supported narrative therapy as a potentially effective treatment for people with cancer to improve their biopsychosocial wellbeing, identifying group treatment, face-to-face delivery, and modification based on cancer stage as factors which may optimise treatment. However, efficacy could not be established due to a lack of high-quality controlled studies and therefore, these findings should be interpreted with caution.

Narrative therapy may be uniquely suitable for people with cancer due to its culturally sensitive, personalised approach which can address various biopsychosocial challenges. However, further high-quality evidence of its efficacy in this population is needed.