Intimacy and Mindfulness Post-Prostate Cancer Treatment

This is an intervention study designed to assess a novel mindfulness-based treatment protocol for couples dealing with sexual dysfunction secondary to prostate cancer treatment. Couples will be invited to participate through the Vancouver Prostate Centre (VPC) and the Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care (PCSC) Program. Interested couples will be screened for eligibility. Eligible couples will be randomized to either an immediate-start or a delayed-waitlist control group. Prior to treatment, couples will complete an online questionnaire package. Treatment will consist of a 4-week mindfulness-based group lead by a clinician trained in mindfulness treatment. Sessions are 2hrs in length and take place in consecutive weeks, with daily homework recommended between sessions. The intervention was developed based on pre-existing mindfulness-based cognitive therapy treatment groups for sexual dysfunction developed by Dr. Lori Brotto at the UBC Sexual Health Laboratory, mindfulness in sex therapy and intimate relationships (MSIR) treatment group developed by Kocsis and Newbury-Helps (2016), and expert input. Sessions consist of mindfulness-based training, sex therapy techniques, and education. After treatment, couples will be invited to complete a post-treatment questionnaire once immediately after the end of treatment, and again 6 months later.