Clinical Manual Of Palliative Care Psychiatry

In recent years, palliative care has emerged as the leading model of person-centered care focused on preserving quality of life and alleviating distress for people and families experiencing serious and life-limiting medical illness. Alongside this development has come a growing recognition of the need for expertise in psychiatric diagnosis, psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy within the interdisciplinary team of specialists tasked with identifying and addressing the varied sources of suffering in patients with advanced medical illnesses. The Clinical Manual of Palliative Care Psychiatry was written to motivate and guide readers -- whether mental health clinicians or palliative care providers -- to deepen their understanding of the psychosocial dimensions of suffering for the benefit of seriously ill patients and the support of their families. Great care has been exercised in the choice of topics and features: * Chapter content emphasizes practical aspects of assessment and management that are unique to the palliative care setting, ensuring that clinicians are equipped to address the most common challenges they are likely to face.* Each chapter ends with a list of supplemental materials -- including key publications (e.g., "Fast Facts" from the Center to Advance Palliative Care) and links to relevant modules from the Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care curriculum (e.g., EPEC for Oncology) -- aimed at extending and enhancing reader knowledge of the topics covered.* The authors provide thorough coverage of medication use, including off-label applications, which are common in palliative care.* A wealth of tables and figures present clinically relevant information in a concise and easy-to-grasp manner. Practical and brimming with essential information and useful techniques, the Clinical Manual of Palliative Care Psychiatry empowers both mental health clinicians and palliative care practitioners to more skillfully respond to psychosocial suffering in seriously ill and dying patients.

In recent years, palliative care has emerged as the leading model of person-centered care focused on preserving quality of life and alleviating distress for people and families experiencing serious and life-limiting medical illness. Alongside this development has come a growing recognition of the need for expertise in psychiatric diagnosis, psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy within the interdisciplinary team of specialists tasked with identifying and addressing the varied sources of suffering in patients with advanced medical illnesses. The Clinical Manual of Palliative Care Psychiatry was written to motivate and guide readers -- whether mental health clinicians or palliative care providers -- to deepen their understanding of the psychosocial dimensions of suffering for the benefit of seriously ill patients and the support of their families. Great care has been exercised in the choice of topics and features: Chapter content emphasizes practical aspects of assessment and management that are unique to the palliative care setting, ensuring that clinicians are equipped to address the most common challenges they are likely to face. Each chapter ends with a list of supplemental materials -- including key publications (e.g., "Fast Facts" from the Center to Advance Palliative Care) and links to relevant modules from the Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care curriculum (e.g., EPEC for Oncology) -- aimed at extending and enhancing reader knowledge of the topics covered. The authors provide thorough coverage of medication use, including off-label applications, which are common in palliative care. A wealth of tables and figures present clinically relevant information in a concise and easy-to-grasp manner. Practical and brimming with essential information and useful techniques, the Clinical Manual of Palliative Care Psychiatry empowers both mental health clinicians and palliative care practitioners to more skillfully respond to psychosocial suffering in seriously ill and dying patients.

Psychiatric, or psychosocial, palliative care has transformed palliative medicine. Palliation that neglects psychosocial dimensions of patient and family experience fails to meet contemporary standards of comprehensive palliative care. While a focus on somatic issues has sometimes overshadowed attention to psychological, existential, and spiritual end-of-life challenges, the past decade has seen an all encompassing, multi-disciplinary approach to care for the dying take hold. Written by internationally known psychiatry and palliative care experts, the Handbook of Psychiatry in Palliative Medicine is an essential reference for all providers of palliative care, including psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health counselors, oncologists, hospice workers, and social workers.

The Palliative Care Handbook 9th edition is a sought-after resource globally and now for the first time this new edition includes extensive support for advanced dementia. A popular resource promoting clinical excellence in palliative care, this ninth edition has been updated by authors Professor Rod MacLeod and Dr Stephen Macfarlane to include comprehensive guidelines for people with dementia receiving end-of-life care. It builds on previous editions to address the fact that dementia is now a leading cause of death across the globe but that often people with dementia are more likely to receive the palliative care that they need. Although small in size – for ease of use by clinicians – the book’s impact is large and is often purchased by families and patients to help them understand the symptoms, treatments and drugs they are encountering. The Palliative Care Handbook offers a thorough understanding of symptoms and treatments which emphasise the importance of a holistic approach to managing patients’ physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs. The first section of the book provides an explanation of palliative care as well as guidelines for alleviation of the symptoms and challenges commonly encountered. Considerations of the needs of the person with dementia are now embedded throughout this section. The second section is a comprehensive listing of drug information including unlicensed uses and interactions. Since its first publication in 1994, The Palliative Care Handbook has been consistently revised, developed and updated to be an essential and practical international resource enabling quality palliative care.

This practical manual presents the main drugs and protocols currently used in the psychopharmacological treatment of psychiatric disorders in cancer and palliative care settings and explores the principal issues involved in such treatment. Significant clinical challenges encountered in the psychopharmacological management of various psychiatric conditions are discussed, covering aspects such as side-effects and drug-drug interactions. Attention is also paid to the emerging theme of adjuvant use of psychotropic drugs for the treatment of symptoms or syndromes not primarily related to psychiatric disorders. In addition, practical suggestions are provided for dealing with special populations, including children and the elderly. The book is designed to be easy to read and to reference, with helpful concise tables and boxes. The authors include some of the most renowned clinicians working in the field of psycho-oncology.

"From its origins, with leaders such as Dame Cicely Saunders, Eric Wilkes, Colin Murray and James in the United Kingdom, Balfour Mount in Canada, Vittorio in Italy, and Elizabeth Ross and Avery Weisman in the United States, hospice and palliative care has always embraced the "whole" person, in the context of their family. From her observations of people with advanced and progressive illness, Dame Cicely Saunders introduced the concept of "total pain." Pain had physical, emotional, social, and spiritual components, all of which needed to be addressed. Of course, excellent control of pain and other symptoms is vital, but the role of the palliative care team, including the physicians, is much more than this. It also extends beyond expertise in the management of physical and psychiatric symptoms. Effective symptom control may be necessary before other goals of hospice and palliative care can be achieved. But equally, failure to address emotional, social, or spiritual components of symptoms may lead to inadequate symptom control. Physicians can and should contribute to this holistic assessment and care. This is why palliative medicine is a rewarding field for physicians-there is much opportunity to practice comprehensive whole person care"--

One of the most challenging roles of the psycho-oncologist is to help guide terminally-ill patients through the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the dying process. Patients with cancer, AIDS, and other life-threatening illnesses are at increased risk for the development of major psychiatric complications, and have an enormous burden of both physical and psychological symptoms. Concepts of adequate palliative care must be expanded beyond the current focus on pain and physical symptom control to include the psychiatric, psychosocial, existential, and spiritual aspects of care. The psycho-oncologist, as a consultant to or member of a palliative care team, has a unique role and opportunity to fulfill this promise of competent and compassionate palliative care for those with life-threatening illnesses. Psychosocial Palliative Care guides the psycho-oncologist through the most salient aspects of effective psychiatric care of patients with advanced illnesses. This handbook reviews basic concepts and definitions of palliative care and the experience of dying, the assessment and management of major psychiatric complications of life-threatening illness, including psychopharmacologic and psychotherapeutic approaches, and covers issues such as bereavement, spirituality, cultural sensitivity, communication and psychiatric contributions to common physical symptom control. A global perspective on death and palliative care is taken throughout the text, and an Appendix provides a comprehensive list of international palliative care resources and training programs.

"Advance care planning (ACP) conversations and goals of care (GOC) discussions prepare patients and their substitute decision makers for medical decision making. When rooted in a patient's values and person-centred in approach, ACP and GOC discussions can optimize the likelihood a person receives care that is concordant with their goals. This chapter explores the definitions and clinical processes for ACP and GOC discussions and describes how a patient's values and goals can directly inform medical decision making. Differences in ACP among healthy individuals and seriously ill, common communication challenges and the pitfalls of a treatment-centered approach are described. We underscore the importance of illness understanding and provide tips on addressing prognosis. Finally, health care system impacts of ACP and GOC are considered"--