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Catherine Majestic

Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Adult Psychiatry & Psychology
Box 102506, Durham, NC 27710
2400 Pratt Street, North Pavilion, 7th Floor, Room 7060, Durham, NC 27705

Selected Publications


Engage: Protocol of a randomized controlled trial of a telehealth-delivered psychosocial intervention to decrease symptom interference in patients with advanced cancer.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · September 2025 BACKGROUND: Pain, fatigue, and distress are highly prevalent co-occurring symptoms in patients with stage IV cancer. Emerging evidence suggests these patients may benefit from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) ap ... Full text Link to item Cite

Insomnia and Related Symptom Severity in Women with Breast Cancer and Pain Receiving Treatment in Medically Underserved Areas.

Journal Article Behav Sleep Med · 2025 OBJECTIVES: Insomnia is common for women with breast cancer, and related to fatigue, depression, and pain. Research exploring these symptoms among breast cancer patients in medically underserved areas is lacking. This study aimed to characterize symptom se ... Full text Link to item Cite

Meaning-centered pain coping skills training for patients with metastatic cancer: Protocol for a randomized controlled efficacy trial.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · December 2023 BACKGROUND: Many patients with advanced cancer describe pain as a debilitating symptom that greatly interferes with daily activities and enjoyment of life. Psychosocial interventions can improve cancer-related pain but rarely address spiritual concerns (e. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Behavioral cancer pain intervention dosing: results of a Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial.

Journal Article Pain · September 1, 2023 Behavioral pain management interventions are efficacious for reducing pain in patients with cancer. However, optimal dosing of behavioral pain interventions for pain reduction is unknown, and this hinders routine clinical use. A Sequential Multiple Assignm ... Full text Link to item Cite

Role of self-efficacy for pain management and pain catastrophizing in the relationship between pain severity and depressive symptoms in women with breast cancer and pain.

Journal Article J Psychosoc Oncol · 2023 PURPOSE: This study evaluated the relationship between pain and depressive symptoms through pain self-efficacy and pain catastrophizing in breast cancer patients with pain. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a randomized trial investigating a cognitive-behavior ... Full text Link to item Cite

Pain, depressive symptoms, and self-efficacy for pain management: examination in African-American women with breast cancer.

Journal Article Support Care Cancer · August 2022 PURPOSE: African-American women with breast cancer face significant disparities, including high levels of pain. Depressive symptoms and self-efficacy for pain management impact how women with breast cancer manage pain, yet little is known about how these v ... Full text Link to item Cite

A SMART approach to optimizing delivery of an mHealth intervention among cancer survivors with posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · November 2021 BACKGROUND/AIMS: Many cancer survivors who received intensive treatment such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) experience posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. PTSD is associated with lower quality of life and other symptoms that re ... Full text Link to item Cite

Relationship between social support, physical symptoms, and depression in women with breast cancer and pain.

Journal Article Support Care Cancer · September 2021 PURPOSE: Fatigue and pain are common among women with breast cancer, and often related to depressive symptoms. Social support may influence levels of fatigue, pain interference, and depressive symptoms. We tested a theory-based, structural model examining ... Full text Link to item Cite

Behavioral cancer pain intervention using videoconferencing and a mobile application for medically underserved patients: Rationale, design, and methods of a prospective multisite randomized controlled trial.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · March 2021 BACKGROUND: Women with breast cancer in medically underserved areas are particularly vulnerable to persistent pain and disability. Behavioral pain interventions reduce pain and improve outcomes. Cancer patients in medically underserved areas receive limite ... Full text Link to item Cite

Evolution of a longitudinal, multidisciplinary, and scalable patient navigation matrix model.

Journal Article Cancer Med · May 2020 This Longitudinal patient navigation Matrix Model was developed to overcome barriers across the cancer care continuum by offering prepatients, patients, and their families with support services. The extraordinary heterogeneity of patient needs during cance ... Full text Link to item Cite

The impact of goal adjustment and caregiver burden on psychological distress among caregivers of cancer patients.

Journal Article Psychooncology · June 2019 OBJECTIVES: Research has demonstrated that serving in the caregiver role is often associated with increased symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety, but some people fare better than others in managing the burden of caregiving. The goal of the present s ... Full text Link to item Cite

Optimizing delivery of a behavioral pain intervention in cancer patients using a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial SMART.

Journal Article Contemp Clin Trials · June 2017 BACKGROUND/AIMS: Pain is common in cancer patients and results in lower quality of life, depression, poor physical functioning, financial difficulty, and decreased survival time. Behavioral pain interventions are effective and nonpharmacologic. Traditional ... Full text Link to item Cite

Disrupted expected value signaling in youth with disruptive behavior disorders to environmental reinforcers.

Journal Article J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry · May 2014 OBJECTIVE: Youth with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD), including conduct disorder (CD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), have difficulties in reinforcement-based decision making, the neural basis of which is poorly understood. Studies examining ... Full text Link to item Cite