Centering Prayer for Women Receiving Chemotherapy for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Nurses may promote or suggest centering prayer as a feasible intervention for the psychological and spiritual adjustment of patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.

Spiritual well-being in lung cancer survivors

“…Patients themselves have expressed interest in receiving spiritual information [21]. Various spiritual interventions have been identified as being helpful including prayer, centering prayer [22], meditation, journaling, life review, chaplain/pastoral visits, and building spiritual awareness [23–24]. …”

A systematic literature review of trials of survivorship interventions for women with gynaecological cancer and their caregivers

“…One pilot study of a mental health therapist‐led “Meaning‐Making” intervention found women reported significantly increased meaning in life following diagnosis and showed trends towards enhanced quality of life compared with the control group (Henry et al, ). A second found that a centring prayer intervention, led by a credentialed centring prayer teacher, during chemotherapy for recurrent ovarian cancer was associated with improved emotional well‐being, anxiety and depression (Johnson et al, ).…”

Center, Light, and Sound: The Psychological Benefits of Three Distinct Meditative Practices

“…Social scientific research of centering prayer, when compared with other meditative practices (e.g., mindfulness), is just getting under way. Currently, there are only four qualitative and quantitative studies published in scholarly journals (J. K. Ferguson, Willemsen, & Castañeto, ; Fox, Gutierrez, Haas, Braganza, & Berger, ; Johnson et al, ; Newberg, Pourdehnad, Alavi, & D'Aquili, ) and two doctoral dissertations (Kruse, ; Kuiper, ). However, the collective evidence produced thus far suggests that centering prayer can yield worthwhile psychological, spiritual, and physiological effects of which counselors should be aware.…”

“…Second, centering prayer may serve as a means of coping with cancer treatment. In a longitudinal pilot study, Johnson et al () trained 10 women receiving chemotherapy for ovarian cancer in centering prayer. Participants noted several physiological benefits to the practice, including feeling calm, feeling relaxed, feeling in tune with one's body, and breathing easily.…”