TeleMAST (PDF) (update of Making Sense of Brain Tumour)

TeleMAST PDF is an update of Making Sense of Brain Tumour Use TeleMAST therapist manual to provide individualised psychosocial support for people with brain tumours and their families. Individuals with brain tumour and their family members can experience considerable distress associated with the diagnosis, an uncertain prognosis and complex neurological and functional impairments. The psychological support needs of people with brain tumour are often overlooked and there is a lack of brain tumour-specific psychological therapy resources. Delivery of the Making Sense of Brain Tumour (MAST) program and its telehealth adaptation (Tele-MAST) is guided by this therapist manual, which supports health professionals to deliver person-centred and goal directed counselling and rehabilitation to adults with brain tumour and their family members. The benefits of the MAST program have been endorsed by international palliative care guidelines, with two RCTs (Ownsworth et al., 2015; Ownsworth et al., 2023) supporting the efficacy of the program for improving mental health and quality of life. The program has also been found to be cost-effective for the Australian healthcare system (Gordon et al., 2024). The therapist manual is intended for use by professionals with qualifications in psychology, social work, and counselling. The neuropsychological assessment and psychotherapy approaches require appropriate training at a post-graduate level.