Antea Worldwide Palliative Care Conference
Rome, 12-14 November 2008
Presenting author
Christine Kalus
Email:
Christine.Kalus@ports.nhs.uk
Phone
Mobile phone
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abstract
• Pain and other symptoms
• Palliative care for cancer patients
• Palliative care for non cancer
patients
• Paediatric palliative care
• Palliative care for the elderly
• The actors of palliative care
• Latest on drugs
• Pain
• Illness and suffering through
media
• Marginalisation and social stigma
at the end of life
• Palliative care advocacy projects
• Prognosis and diagnosis
communication in
different cultures
• Communication between doctor-
patient and patient-
equipe
• Religions and cultures versus
suffering, death and
bereavement
• Public institution in the world:
palliative care policies
and law
• Palliative care: from villages to metropolies
• Space, light and gardens for the
• End-of-life ethics
• Complementary therapies
• Education, training and research
• Fund-raising and no-profit
• Bereavement support
• Volunteering in palliative care
• Rehabilitation in palliative care
ABSTRACT FORM
The Role of Clinical Psychologists in Specialist Palliative Care
Authors (max 6, presenting author included): Kalus Christine
Clinical Psychology in the UK is a profession that has developed over the past 40 years, and is
currently a 3 year training, culminating the qualification of Doctor of Clinical Psychology.
Placements cover domains such as adult mental health; children and families; physical health
settings; people with learning difficulties. The core curriculum within the profession is predicated
on ensuring that on qualification practitioners are able to work autonomously within the health
and social care system.
Clinical Psychologists are trained to be competent as Cognitive Behavioural Therapists (CBT) which
is the therapy of choice for many mental and physical health settings because of the relatively
strong evidence base. They are also exposed to other therapeutic modalities, including
Psychodynamic, Psychoanalytic, Phenomenological/Existential, Systemic, Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness. Training gives practitioners the ability to develop
formulations and, where appropriate, interventions based on the needs of the individual or family
in need of help.
With regard to palliative care, in 2004 the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)
produced a document on Supportive and Specialist Palliative Care in which it recommended that
all generalist and specialist palliative care services should have access to psychological
practitioners able to provide Levels 3 and 4 assessments and interventions to people in receipt of
specialist palliative care, and into bereavement if appropriate. Levels 3 and 4 are high level
interventions which requires practitioners to be trained in psychological therapies, giving them the
ability to work with patients and families who have complex mental and physical health needs.
Despite this encouragement to develop psychological services, there has been limited investment
in clinical psychology services within specialist palliative care throughout the UK, and currently the
number of practitioners is around 50.
Alongside this lack of service development, there is a concomitant lack of clarity about the “right”
therapeutic model to use within specialist palliative care. There is also a lack of clarity within the
evidence base as to what is the most “effective” therapy to use, and the high attrition of subjects
within the speciality means that research, which give practitioners confidence in their approach,
is difficult to conduct. The most commonly used models are: Psychodynamic; CBT and Systemic.
Practitioners will also use integrated approaches, which clinical psychologists are well placed to do.
Palliative care brings its own challenges, and facing dying, death and bereavement on a daily
basis and if we are to avoid burnout and high levels of attrition within the speciality, professionals
and volunteers alike need to learn how to care for themselves, and develop as reflective and
reflexive practitioners. This is something that clinical psychologists are particularly able to help
facilitate, and work well within teams offering training, supervision, support and consultancy for
individuals and teams.
In order to think about how clinical psychologists can develop and enhance the skills that they
need to achieve the above, the workshop will address the following issues:
Core curricula necessary to socialise and train trainee clinical psychologists into specialist palliative
care; post qualification needs; communication skills; the ability to develop, undertake and
evaluate research into appropriate clinical assessments and interventions with patients and
families.
terminally ill patient
Session: Workshop on core curricula
Chair of the session: Junger Saskia
• Core curricula