66th Annual Conference

Saturday, February 21

Early Bird Open Sessions

7:15-8:15 A.M.

Session 221

Helping Families at the End of Life: Options for Working with Palliative Care and Bereavement Teams

Presenter:           

Ruth E. Geller, Psychiatric Resident, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York

Palliative care teams are comprised of clinicians from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds working together to alleviate physical and psychological distress in severely medically ill people or those who are dying.  These teams also support families in navigating complex medical systems and life stage transitions. In this course, Dr. Geller will explain how a palliative care specialist prepares terminally ill patients and their families for impending death while working to make the dying process itself both peaceful and meaningful. Participants will also have the opportunity to share their own experiences working with families at the end of life and to discuss the dynamics of working within a multidisciplinary treatment team.

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Define palliative care and differentiate it from hospice or other types of comfort care.

2. Explain how palliative care specialists can work as part of an interdisciplinary team to help terminally ill people and their families prepare for death.

3. Conduct a successful family meeting.

4. Describe common medical and ethical quandries that arise at the end of life, including decisions about: artificial feeding and hydration, use of advanced technologies and life support measures, and options of last resort including terminal sedation (TS), voluntary active euthanasia (VAE), and physician assisted suicide.

Course References:

1. Chochinov HM. Palliative Care: An Opportunity for Mental Health Professionals. Can J Psychiatry. 2004;49(6).

2. Kissane DW. Family Focused Grief Therapy: A Randomized, Controlled Trial in Palliative Care and Bereavement.  Am J Psychiatry. 2006; 163(7):1208-1218.

3. Kristjanson L.J. Palliative Care for Families: Remembering the Hidden Patients. Can J Psychiatry. 2004;49:359-65.