The Helping Professional's Guide to End-of-Life Care

Clinical psychologist E. Alessandra Strada presents The Helping Professional's Guide to End of Life Care, a complete manual designed to help chaplains, nurses, physicians, hospice workers, psychotherapists, palliative care specialists, and psychologists address the psychological needs of terminally ill and dying patients and their families. Key Selling Points: ? Over 40 percent of people at the end of life receive hospice care. In 2009, an estimated 1.56 million patients received services from a hospice care program (National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization). Page 33 of 83 TIP SHEET TIP SHEET ? This is the first book to provide practical instruction for helping professionals working to address the psychological needs of the dying. Readers will learn to implement the evidence based psychotherapy models that are most effective for treating emotional distress in patients and caregivers. The book addresses helping patients work through their fear of dying and integrating patients' religious and spiritual beliefs into their treatment. ? E. Alessandra Strada is attending psychologist at the department of pain medicine and palliative care at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City. She has specific and comprehensive training in end of life care and functions as a core member of a palliative care and hospice care team. She has trained physicians and other medical professionals working in this field to manage the emotional intensity of this work and alleviate dying patients' psychological distress. Description: Nearly half of people at the end of life will receive hospice care, but few psychologists, nurses, physicians, chaplains, and hospice workers have been trained specifically to recognize and address the psychological, social, and emotional issues that may arise in patients who are dying. Patients in the midst of advanced terminal illness may experience a variety of distressing emotions, and may feel anxious, frightened, regretful, or desperate. This guide was created specifically to guide helping professionals of all kinds through the process of working through patients' psychological issues to allow them peace and comfort in their final moments. The Helping Professional's Guide to End of Life Care clarifies the spiritual and emotional care that patients need and presents an evidence based approach integrating cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), transpersonal psychotherapy, hypnosis, mindfulness, and guided imagery to help patients manage emotional distress at the end of life. Through case conceptualizations and detailed treatment planning guidance, readers learn to formulate comprehensive assessment and treatment plans for patients and gain skills that will help them manage the emotional intensity of this work. This secular, professional treatment model can be applied to patients of any religious or spiritual background. The book also addresses integrating the patient's therapeutic team with the medical team, addressing the emotional needs of friends and family of the dying, crisis intervention for suicidal patients, working with clients on psychotropic medications, and how helping professionals can manage their own emotions to become more effective clinicians. Author Bio: E. Alessandra Strada, PhD, is attending psychologist in the department of pain medicine and palliative care at Beth Israel Medical Center in new York City. She is assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and assistant professor of East West psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA. Her clinical and research interests have focused on psychological and spiritual care of patients with advanced and terminal illness and patients with chronic pain. Her treatment approaches include the integrated use of psychodynamic, existential, and insight oriented approaches with cognitive behavioral therapy, guided imagery, mindfulness, and meditation.