Personalizing symptom-specific psychological interventions for cancer survivors

Fear of cancer recurrence, depressive symptoms, and cancer-related fatigue are prevalent symptoms among cancer survivors. Evidence-based psychological interventions exist for these symptoms. However, effect sizes are often small to moderate, especially for fear of cancer recurrence and depressive symptoms. The personalization of psychological interventions is often mentioned as a promising strategy to further improve the efficacy of interventions. Through the studies included in this thesis, we aimed to advance the knowledge on the personalization of psychological interventions for cancer survivors. To achieve this, we addressed key conceptual, empirical, and methodological gaps in the literature by focusing on three main objectives: 1) formulation of a comprehensive definition and operationalization of personalized psychological treatment, 2) evaluation of the efficacy of personalized psychological treatment compared to no or less personalization in the same or comparable treatment, and 3) developing systematic approaches for tailoring psychological interventions to the needs of cancer survivors, particularly in addressing cancer related fatigue, fear of cancer recurrence, and depression. In the general discussion, the main findings of our studies are summarized and placed in a broader perspective. We also elaborate on the clinical relevance of the findings described in this PhD thesis and discuss implications for future research.