@ajh5285, this is a great question. I expanded the title of the discussion to bring in more people. Many members have sought counseling to help with the stress of a cancer diagnosis, treatment, as well as the stress of after treatment. I'm tagging a few people who may have some thoughts to share like @roch @naturegirl5 @azkidney57 @markheuer @grandpabob @mir123 @susanaz @rhongirl. I'm confident that many more will join in.

Mayo Clinic's Cancer Education Center also offers a free, online, self-learning course to help people (patients and caregivers) living with cancer to manage stress.

You can work through the modules at your own pace to help you better understand how the body may respond to stressful situations, including cancer. You'll get various tools and techniques to meet physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, as you learn to manage stress.

- Stress Management for Cancer: Free online course from Mayo https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/stress-management-for-cancer-free-online-course-from-mayo/

AJH, you ask specifically if counseling can be effective if only the patient attends and not the caregiver or vice versa. In my opinion, it is helpful. But I suspect there is more to your question. Would you care to elaborate?