Research and experience document that mothers of children with cancer experience extraordinary stresses. Reactions to these stresses can be manifested as negative affectivity (anxiety, depression, anger, and guilt) which adversely impacts how well the ill child, other children, and the family as a whole copes with the illness. The finding that individuals who are able to problem solve effectively are less anxious or depressed has resulted in the development of problem-solving therapy as a major clinical intervention for a variety of affective disorders. While caregivers of children with cancer seldom meet the DSM-IV criteria for psychiatric illness, they are at increased risk for low sense of well-being and heightened anxiety. To enhance maternal coping, we developed an 8, 1-hr individual Problem-Solving Skills Training(PSST) intervention entitled Bright IDEAS: Bright signifies the sense of optimism essential for successful implementation, and the lettersI (Identify the problem), D (Determine the options), E (Evaluate options and choose the best),A (Act), and S (See if it worked) signify the 5 primary steps of problem-solving. Subjects were mothers of children diagnosed with cancer 2-16 weeks prior to recruitment. Sessions were tailored to address specific problems identified as particularly relevant by each mother. Pilot testing at 6 institutions with 36 learners + 36 controls(total N=72) used a repeated-measures (T1=baseline; T2=end of intervention; T3=3 mos post intervention) randomized design to assess the efficacy of PSST on problem-solving ability (primary outcome) and negative affectivity(secondary outcome). Preliminary analysis reveals that all changes in problem solving skills and mood state scores in learners are in the predicted direction; changes in controls are variable. Furthermore, the differences in these changes between learners and controls were statistically significant(T2-T1skills: p=.053, mood, p<.003) and maintained over time (T3-T1 skills: p<.027; mood, p=.078). PSST is a highly promising brief targeted intervention that teaches skills to mothers who are increasingly held responsible for the health care of their seriously ill child.