Mental Health Interventions for End-of-Life Care
Course #96090 - $15 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Patients facing life-limiting illness often experience psychological, emotional, existential, and spiritual distress that can significantly affect quality of life. As palliative and end-of-life care have evolved, a variety of evidence-based mental health interventions have emerged to help patients find meaning, preserve dignity, cope with suffering, and navigate the challenges associated with serious illness and dying. This course reviews the theoretical foundations, therapeutic goals, and clinical applications of major psychosocial interventions used in end-of-life care, including dignity therapy, life review, narrative approaches, terror management theory, cognitive-behavioral interventions, meaning-centered psychotherapy, compassion-based therapy, mindfulness, spiritual care, and expressive therapies. Participants will gain an understanding of how these interventions can be used individually and collaboratively to address the diverse psychological, existential, and spiritual needs of patients and families while supporting person-centered, compassionate end-of-life care.
This course is designed for nursing and behavioral health professionals involved in providing care to patients at the end of life.
The purpose of this course is to provide nurses, social workers, counselors, therapists, and allied health professionals with the knowledge and strategies necessary to support the mental health needs of patients at the end-of-life care.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Describe the purpose and key characteristics of dignity therapy, life review, and narrative approaches in end-of-life care.
- Compare theoretical and psychotherapeutic frameworks used to address existential distress in patients with life-limiting illness, including terror management theory, cognitive-behavioral therapy, meaning-centered psychotherapy, and compassion-based therapy.
- Identify complementary interventions that support quality of life and psychosocial well-being at the end of life, including mindfulness, spiritual care, art therapy, and music therapy.
Lisa Hutchison, LMHC, has more than 20 years of experience providing individual and group counseling with adults. She specifically focuses on teaching assertiveness, stress management, and boundary setting for empathic helpers. Ms. Hutchison graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, with a Master’s degree in education for mental health counseling.
Contributing faculty, Lisa Hutchison, LMHC, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Margo A. Halm, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, FAAN
Alice Yick Flanagan, PhD, MSW
Margaret Donohue, PhD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.