The paper should be at least 1,200 words and include all
of the 5 sets of sources listed below.
This paper will represent the culmination of your study of the End of Life Issues in this course, and will enable you to explore a specific topic of interest from the perspective of one of the social or behavioral sciences. Your paper should include the various sources that you collected in your proposal. All sources should convey information that is integrated into your paper:
1. A source regarding your discipline of choice
2. At least one resource from our course
3. At least two scholarly sources
4. At least one organizational source
5. (optional) Any additional sources that you would like to include that are relevant to your topic.
For this project you will be completing the project that you proposed in your Research project.
Please note that this Report should be a coherent essay that develops an argument related to your topic of research. It should NOT be a list of concepts and sources related to the topic.
Your paper should include:
1. Introduction
2. Body of the paper. The paper should provide relevant details and also convey how your paper is
related to the social science discipline identified in your proposal.
3. Reflections. Include a paragraph about why this topic is significant and meaningful to you, as well
as anything that you learned that you found especially interesting.
4. Conclusion
5. Reference List
Important: All sources
should be cited within the paper, using APA style.
The Role of Psychologists in Palliative Care
1. The research explores the role of psychologists in palliative care. It will address the necessity to involve these professionals to help the patients deal with the psychological aspects of pain and symptom management, using evidence-based interventions (Strachen, Finucane, & Spiller, 2014). It is essential because there is still a lack of clarity about the role of psychologists in palliative care. The terms that are applicable to this research are ‘denial’ and ‘concreteness’ because many patients with terminal diseases refuse to get help, opting for a “rejection of information due to lack of coping strategies” (Strachen, Finucane, & Spiller, 2014), at the same time aspiring to get answers to abstract questions about their future. Thus, the research focuses on the need to explore the role of psychologists in palliative care and the opportunities for their interaction with the clients who experience end-of-life issues.
2. Psychology is the academic discipline that sets the context for the research. Since palliative care is related to supporting people with chronic conditions, it is crucial to understand their psychological needs to offer specific interventions. The approach of this discipline is concerned with the use of psychotherapy for various mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and stress (American Psychological Association, 2019).
3. The project aims to clarify two issues. The first one is related to the opportunities for clarification of the role of psychologists in palliative care. The second issue is represented by the opportunities to teach psychologists to overcome the patients’ denial and help them reach concreteness.
4. We can agree that psychologist’s role in palliative care centers around the patient and their needs. What about the caregivers themselves such as loved ones who are also caring for them? Much of psychologist’s role revolve around the needs of the caregivers as well. Caring for a loved one who has a terminal illness can be stressful on a family. Psychologists help the family by easing emotional tension they may face during these times. In the Handbook of Death and Dying, Chapter 49: Formal and Informal Caregiving at the End of Life states: “In the home setting, the work of caregivers is much more variable and ranges from help with activities of daily living to emotional support and psychological processes such as “saying good-bye” and tending to unresolved conflicts. In the institutional setting, the work related to daily living is taken care of by professional caregiving staff, but the emotional support of the family is still important.” (Kovacs & Fauri, 2007)
5. The organization that is relevant to the research is the American Psychological Association (https://www.apa.org). It is crucial to explore its resources because it thoroughly describes the role of psychologists in palliative care, emphasizing their clinical roles, involvement in education and training, contribution to research, and engagement in policy-making (American Psychological Association, 2019).
6. The article by Golijani-Moghaddam (2014) describes the various contributions of psychologists to palliative care. For instance, it implies that psychologists should perform different roles at diverse intervention points such as prior to life-limiting illness, after diagnosis, during advanced illness, and bereavement. The narrative relates to the paper topic because it helps clearly distinguish the interventions that are required for each stage.
The article by Butow
(2017) discusses different kinds of participation that psychologists can
enforce in terms of palliative care. For example, it explores their role in the
context of death anxiety, personal identity issues, and bereavement counseling.
The source is essential to the
project because it describes many active coping strategies.
References
American Psychological Association. (2019). The Role of Psychology in End-of-Life Decisions and Quality of Care. American Psychological Association, 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.apa.org/research/action/end#targetText=Significance,life%20care%20and%20decision%2Dmaking. Accessed October 19, 2019.
Butow, P. (2017). Psychology and End of Life: Australian Psychologist. Australian Psychologist, 52(5), 331-334.
Golijani-Moghaddam, N. (2014). Practitioner psychologists in palliative care: Past, present, and future directions. Counselling Psychology Review, 29(1), 29-40.
Kovacs, Pamela J., & Fauri, David P. (2007). Chapter 49: Formal and Informal Care giving at the End of Life. In Handbook of Death & Dying (p. 505). SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.umuc.edu/10.4135/9781412914291.n49
Strachen, J., Finucane, A. M., & Spiller, J. (2014). Clinical Psychologists in specialist palliative care: what do we actually do. Journal of Medical Psychology, 72, 267-79.
