Roles for Psychologists in End-of-Life Care: Emerging Models of Practice.

Abstract

Professional psychologists are increasingly likely to encounter opportunities to work with patients and families facing end-of-life issues. Psychologists can provide psychological assessment, intervention for patients and families, consultation with and support of health care team members, grief therapy, and program development and evaluation. Psychological services are useful for healthy individuals who wish to make thoughtful plans about their own future care, patients with life-limiting illnesses, families stressed by providing end-of-life care, bereaved individuals, and health care providers who face issues of burnout and strain. Several challenges for psychologists working in end-of-life care are noted, including training, development of clear roles, and reimbursement. "My mother is dying from breast cancer. Her oncologist told me that she will probably only live a few more months no matter what he does, but she is continuing her radiation and chemotherapy anyway. I think they both want to keep her hopes up. It's so awkward not being able to talk with her realistically about her future. The stress of seeing her go through this and doing what I can to take care of her is so depressing. I wonder whether she would benefit from hospice care but I am afraid to raise the issue and don't want to seem like I am giving up. All of this makes me very scared about my own aging-I don't want to die in a hospital connected to a bunch of tubes and machines. What should I do?" Professional psychologists are increasingly likely to have such conversations with their patients. As psychology increasingly demonstrates its value beyond traditional mental health areas, in such diverse fields as primary care and health psychology (Brown et al.

Narrating the dialogical self: Toward an expanded toolbox for the counselling psychologist

“…Similarly, clients will differ in the degree to which they project their story forward in time, foreshadowing a hoped-for coming chapter (''Almost a Father'' or ''A Second Childhood'') or even anticipating their death or afterlife in a way that brings ''completion'' to their life journey. Prompts to consider sketching future chapters in this way have an obvious role in ''life review'' work with older adults (Haley, Larson, Kasl-Godley, & Neimeyer, 2003), but can also be quite useful with young adults, helping them see current struggles and decisions in light of longer term life goals and purposes.…”

Examining Direct Service Worker Turnover in Three Long-Term Care Industries in Ohio

“…Other studies have corroborated that caring for older and disabled patients also can be emotionally draining (Haley, Larson, Kasl-Godley, Neimeyer, & Kwilosz, 2003;Holland & Neimeyer, 2005). Further, research suggests that work-life support programs are likely to reduce the emotional demands of the job (Macdonald, Lothian, & Wells, 1997;Maiden, 1988) and promoting good practices such as proper lifting of residents/clients can help reduce the physical demands of the job (Institute of Medicine, 1996).…”

Experiencias y obstáculos de los psicólogos en el acompañamiento de los procesos de fin de vida

“…Los papeles o roles que desempeñan coinciden con aquellos incluidos en otros estudios (Haley, Larson, Kasl-Godley, Neimeyer, y Kwilosz, 2003;Lacasta et al, 2008), aunque éstos no realizan intervenciones preventivas (Haley et al, 2003). Los pacientes que disfrutan de atención en el fin de vida son principalmente aquellos diagnosticados por procesos oncológicos, lo que deja a una gran población desatendida (Gardiner, Cobb, Gott e Ingleton, 2011).…”