Oncodynamics: psychodynamics in oncology

The basic thougt in (biological) psycho-oncology -as in much of psychotherapy- is that certain aspects of the personality have decreased contact with the conscious parts of the person that are experienced as self. Due to earlier life-experiences, parts of will, needs and demands, aspirations, feeling and desires have become repressed. Le Shan pointed to the presence of 'silent despair' and 'a foiled creative fire' in many of the cancer patients he studied and counselled. Similarly, de Vries summarized that a wounded inner child is at the core of many cancer patients' emotional pain and need. None of this has to be visible at first glance; not for the outer world, not for the patient either. Some further remarks on this topic can be found in  Psychodrama and cancer.
Unfortunately, repression not only blurs the sight, it also has a negative effect itself on survival.

(survival in breast cancer, related to repression; Jensen, 1987, © J. personality)

Evidently, research into psychosocial factors and their relation with cancer easily leads to conflicting results, depending on the depth of the assesment and the moment in the life of the patient. Therefore, most questionnairres will lead to conflicting data and should not be used in psycho-oncology. In depth interviews, psychotherapeutic experiences and projective tests have the best chances to lead to valid data.

An even more complex area is the influence of earlier events in the family, including former generations, on onset and course of disease , or on accidents and other physical trauma (the anniversary syndrome, ancestor syndrome). See psycho spiritual, transpersonal etc.
The core problem in psycho-oncological therapy is that much of therapy reaches those parts of the person that are manifest in daily life -and in the session-, not necessarily the parts that are most in need. As someone has said: ''Much of good psychotherapy is given to the wrong part of the personality". In spontaneous regression of cancer we noted that - shortly prior to the regression of the cancer- certain situations, often negative and confronting, called for a new response by the patient. These situations seem to have elicited a 'new configuration' (phrase by van Zuuren) within the personality, leading to better, more active coping. A direct attempt to make a similar change can easily fail. Life may elicit more change in us, than we can do ourselves. The challenge in psycho-oncological therapy is to find ways to foster such changes, with the same strength and innate quality as one may see in patients with spontaneous regression of cancer. Role-play (psycho- or monodrama), dreamwork and bodily-experiential therapy hopefully come close enough.

The logo of psychomedical help depicts the experiential process, handled by words, like in excercising with the felt sense.