New Psychotherapies Developed for Use in End-of-Life Care

Novel psychotherapeutic approaches have been developed in recent years to address the needs of patients with advanced and end-stage illness, said speakers today at the symposium “Meaning and Dignity in End of Life Care: Psychotherapeutic Interventions” at APA’s 2015 annual meeting in Toronto.

Harvey M. Chochinov, M.D., a distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and director of the Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit, described “dignity therapy,” a brief, individual psychotherapy designed for application within the setting of palliative and end-of-life care. “It has been studied in several countries worldwide, with an accumulating body of evidence demonstrating its ability to enhance end-of-life experience,” he said.

Chochinov provided an overview of the empirical basis for dignity therapy and a survey of published data reporting the outcomes from various clinical trials. He also presented case material that illustrated key issues and core principles of dignity therapy.

He was joined in the symposium by Gary Rodin, M.D., of the University of Toronto, who spoke on “Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully: From the Practical to the Profound,” and William Breitbart, M.D., chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who discussed “Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy in Advanced Cancer Patients.”

Listen to an interview of Chochinov discussing dignity therapy.