CARDIAC REHABILITATION PATIENTS EXPERIENCES AND UNDERSTANDING OF GROUP METACOGNITIVE THERAPY: A QUALITATIVE STUDY

McPhillips, R., Capobianco, L., Cooper, B. G., Husain, Z., & Wells, A. (2021). Cardiac rehabilitation patients experiences and understanding of group metacognitive therapy: a qualitative study. Open Heart, 8(2), e001708

Background: Depression and anxiety are up to three times more prevalent in cardiac patients than the general population and are linked to increased risks of future cardiac events and mortality. Psychological interventions for cardiac patients vary in content and are often associated with weak outcomes. A recent treatment, metacognitive therapy (MCT) has been shown to be highly effective at treating psychological distress in mental health settings. This is the first study to explore qualitatively, cardiac rehabilitation (CR) patients’ experiences and understanding of group MCT with the aim of examining aspects of treatment that patients experienced as helpful.