Psychosocial Spiritual Alberta Community of Practice
June 19, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Organized by: Palliative Institute
Audience: Healthcare professionals
Webinar Palliative care Spiritual health Mental health
This community of practice seeks to develop the clinical and self-care skills of professionals providing psychosocial-spiritual care to palliative patients, families and the bereaved in Alberta.
In palliative and grief care, there is often a component of suffering that we cannot “fix” or “take away”. Instead, as psychosocial-spiritual professionals we are called to companion and support, foster coping, processing, treatment, and sometimes healing. This COP seeks to develop the clinical and self-care skills of professionals providing psychosocial-spiritual care to palliative patients, families and the bereaved in Alberta. Developed with Alberta content, this series is open to social workers, spiritual care providers, creative arts therapists, occupational therapists, Indigenous liaisons, counsellors, psychologists, nurses and other clinicians providing emotional and spiritual support. Come explore relevant topics, meet your colleagues, deepen your knowledge, and build connections. We encourage you to attend all sessions, as able.
Sessions
Palliative Care Can Happen Anywhere: Tools for Psychosocial Spiritual Professionals
Date: Nov. 21, 2024
Presenter: Sheila Killoran MA, MTA, FAMI; Danica Hans RN, BScN Bilingue, CHPCN(C), education leads, Palliative Institute
As psychosocial spiritual professionals, compassionate care is at the heart of the work you do. Palliative care can be delivered by generalists anywhere in the healthcare system. When supporting people with serious illness and their families you are providing a palliative approach to care when you communicate and plan with clients and families, provide emotional support, offer strategies to cope with fear and foster hope, or facilitate access to ritual and cultural protocol. This presentation aims to empower and equip psychosocial spiritual professionals with the knowledge, tools and competency-based education needed to deliver excellent palliative care.
Culturally Safer Care
Date: Dec. 19, 2024
Presenter: Juliet Foster, RN, Indigenous palliative care navigator, Indigenous Wellness Clinic, Covenant Health
Juliet Foster is a palliative and hospice certified registered nurse with over ten years of experience in palliative care. In this session, Juliet will share about her current role as an Indigenous palliative nurse navigator and how she helps Indigenous clients and their family navigate the health care system to find supports available through a culturally informed approach to care.
This session will explore the topics of social determinants of health and culturally safer care.
Mindful Self-Compassion
Date: Jan. 16, 2025
Presenter: Dr. Charlie Chen, MD, Med, CCFP(PC), FCFP
Learn about the theoretical framework and some of the research behind mindful self-compassion and take part in a 12-minute guided meditation followed by small and large group discussions.
Please join Dr. Charlie Chen, MD, Med, CCFP(PC), FCFP to explore and discover the wonders of mindful self-compassion (MSC). MSC combines the skills of mindfulness with the emotional practice of self-compassion. You will hear about the theoretical framework and learn about some the research behind this practice. The session will involve a 12-minute guided MSC meditation followed by small and large group discussions about your experience.
How to Care, What to Say: Talking About Grief and Loss
Date: Feb. 20, 2025
Presenter: Becky VanTassel BSW RSW M.Ed., Grief Education
In this session we will highlight the importance of discussing grief and loss with patients. Through interactive activities participants can expect to explore “Forever Remembered Stories” and their role in providing quality patient care. Participants will leave with additional resources to explore following the session.
Learning objectives
- After attending this training, participants will report:
- Increased awareness of the importance of discussing grief and loss.
- Increase knowledge of practical strategies to provide quality care in “Forever Remembered” moments.
- Increased knowledge of video resources to support patients and families.
Skill Building for Difficult Conversations
Date: Mar. 20, 2025
Presenter: Kim Crosby, PhD., R. Psych, registered psychologist, Cross Cancer Institute
In this presentation, we will explore communication skills for health care providers in palliative care. The presentation will explore patient experiences in palliative care, and their communication preferences. We will also discuss specific skills and strategies for communicating effectively with patients around difficult topics, including disease progression, goals of care, and end-of-life.
Learning goals
After attending this session, participants will report:
- Increased awareness and understanding of common patient experiences in palliative care
- Increased understanding of patient preferences for communication and receiving information
- Understanding of a framework and specific skills for having conversations about disease progression as well as death and dying
Dementia and Grief
Date: Apr. 24, 2025
Presenter: Becky VanTassel BSW RSW M.Ed., Grief Education
Join Becky as she explores the intersection of grief and dementia and provides tools for helping those with dementia.
In this discussion-based session, we will explore grief and dementia. We will consider the impact of loss on both caregivers and individuals living with dementia and will identify practical tools to support individuals and families.
Learning goals
After attending this session participants will report:
- Increased awareness of the impact of grief and dementia for caregivers and people living with dementia
- Increased ability to identity grief when working with people living with dementia
- Increased knowledge of tools to respond to residents living with dementia regarding loss and grief
Poetry in Therapy
Date: May 15, 2025
Presenter: Joanne Morcom, BSW, RSW, social worker, Extendicare Cedars Villa
In this session you gain knowledge of the therapeutic uses of poetry, including for coping with serious illness and in grief work. Joanne will provide information about bibliotherapy, poetry as therapy and resources for further study. Participants will have the opportunity to read and discuss a sample poem in break-out rooms before reconvening for a final discussion.
Learning goals
After attending this session, participants will report:
- Improved understanding of bibliotherapy as a creative arts therapy.
- Increased knowledge of the therapeutic uses of poetry, including coping with serious illness and grief work.
- Enhanced skills in the use of poetry as therapy.
- Increased awareness of resources to enhance knowledge and skills in this therapeutic practice area.
Suffering and Spirituality in End-of-Life Care
Date: Jun. 19, 2025
Presenters: Wenda Salomons, MTS, certified spiritual care practitioner, Covenant Health; Craig Traynor, MDiv, spiritual health practitioner, Covenant Health
End-of-life suffering is complex. It can manifest through physical, emotional, relational, existential, and other psychosocial aspects of dying.
This presentation explores end-of-life suffering through a lens of spirituality. While touching on some historical and cultural background, it focuses on modern approaches to spiritual care and proposes some solutions to address suffering in end-of-life care.
Learning goals
After attending this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify spirituality and suffering.
- Propose solutions to suffering from spiritual perspectives.
- Specify and address particular End-of-Life challenges related to spirituality.
This event is part of the Covenant Health Palliative Institute's ECHO Hub virtual knowledge-sharing platform. Find more events or revisit past sessions on ECHO Hub.