A systematic review of 14 studies found that psychological interventions, particularly meaning-centered psychotherapy and dignity therapy, can reduce demoralization in patients with chronic diseases. Most studies treated demoralization as a secondary outcome, and ten used randomized controlled designs. Six of these investigated evidence-based meaning-centered therapy, and four investigated dignity therapy, showing the best empirical support. The review concludes that randomized controlled trials with demoralization as the primary outcome and adequate sample sizes are needed to more clearly evaluate effectiveness.
A brief, Spanish-language adaptation of Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (Spanish B-MORE) was tested in a pilot randomized controlled trial with 20 Spanish-speaking adults experiencing chronic pain. Participants rated the intervention as highly acceptable, averaging 9.4 out of 10, and would recommend it to others. Immediately after sessions, pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, and anxiety all decreased with large effect sizes. At six weeks, those who received B-MORE showed greater improvements across all clinical outcomes compared to a waitlist control group. The intervention appears to be a brief, scalable, and culturally responsive option for chronic pain in Spanish-speaking populations, warranting further study in larger trials.