Addressing Dying, Death and End of Life Care Clinically and Personally

About this event

Live and Interactive Webinar via Zoom

4 CEUs

Death is a universal human experience relevant to all areas of social work practice, but in our death-denying and defying culture it is one that is often met with fear and discomfort by both patient and practitioner.

A main goal of this engaging workshop is to cultivate greater familiarity with death and dying so that this inevitable occurrence can be empathically embraced instead of avoided. Participants will develop a better understanding of the dying experience for patients and their families, and the often misunderstood hospice and palliative care programs and benefits will be explained.

Participants will be exposed to effective communication strategies around end-of-life preferences and gain practical skills in completing advance directives. The role of social work in this inherently multi-disciplinary field will be discussed, with a focus on the importance of adopting a non-judgmental, patient-centered stance, and accepting and appreciating the variation found in end-of-life experiences. Strategies for dealing with the fear of death and interventions for working with the dying will be introduced. In addition, participants will be encouraged to develop self-awareness of their own values and beliefs toward dying and death, and explore strategies for self-care. Learning Objectives:

By the end of this workshop, participants will:

• Recognize current attitudes and approaches to death in the United States
• Distinguish between hospice and palliative care programs and benefits, and when they may be appropriate
• Understand the dying experience for the terminally ill and their loved ones
• Identify the role of social work in end of life care
• Develop an appreciation and acceptance of the variation found in end of life experiences
• Know advance planning options and be able to utilize them with individuals and their families
• Utilize effective communication techniques in working with individuals around end of life issues
• Become aware of strategies and interventions for working with the fear of death and the dying
• Appreciate the need for an awareness of one’s own attitudes around end of life issues and effective self-care

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Amy Schiller, PhD, LCSW

Amy Schiller (formerly Schigelone) earned her A.B. in Sociology from the University of Chicago, and her MSW and Ph.D. in Social Work and Sociology from the University of Michigan, where she was a National Institute on Aging fellow. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Clinical Medical Ethics while working as an Assistant Research Professor in Geriatrics at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Schiller is a former hospice social worker and has both research and clinical experience working with older adults and end of life issues. She has taught courses at the University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice on Aging and Mental Health, and Death and Dying. She is a graduate of the Adult Psychotherapy Program at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute and currently works with adult clients across the life course in her private psychotherapy practice in Oak Park, Il.

ABOUT THE EVENT

This workshop will take place via Zoom. Access information will be shared via email at least 48 hours prior to the start of the course. The workshop will not be recorded.