Top ten tips palliative care clinicians should know about applying key psychotherapy concepts in practice Editorial


Authors: Chammas, D.; Williamson, B.; Scheel, T.; Goyal, N.; Rosenberg, L. B.; Shalev, D.; Gamble, A.; Polisso, Mike; Rosa, W. E.; Brenner, K. O.
Title: Top ten tips palliative care clinicians should know about applying key psychotherapy concepts in practice
Abstract: Psychological symptoms are notably prevalent in palliative care (PC) settings, significantly impacting quality of life for patients and their families. Given the inherent multidimensionality of suffering in PC, addressing these psychological aspects is essential. This article aims to introduce and integrate discrete concepts from various schools of psychotherapy, which are directly applicable to PC practices, thereby providing clinicians with a rich toolkit to manage psychological distress. The article focuses on 10 key concepts from different psychotherapeutic traditions. They are a small sample from the vast and deep pool of wisdom contained in psychotherapeutic theory, and they were selected due to their direct applicability to PC practice. Adopting psychotherapeutic principles, along with leveraging the interdisciplinary wisdom inherent in PC practice, enhances our therapeutic relationships in PC and empowers patients to navigate their illness with greater resilience and adaptive coping.
Keywords: palliative care; quality of life; psychological theory; comorbidity; mental disorders; critical illness; coping; suffering; psychotherapists; psychotherapy methods; therapeutic alliance; empowerment; hardiness; professional-client relations; psychological distress prevention and control; family psychosocial factors
Journal Title: Journal of Palliative Medicine
Volume: 28
Issue: 8
ISSN: 1096-6218
Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc  
Date Published: 2025-08-01
Start Page: 1108
End Page: 1113
DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2024.0317
PROVIDER: EBSCOhost
PROVIDER: cinahl plus with full text
PMCID: PMC12417045
PUBMED: 39269882
DOI/URL:
Notes: Source: CINAHL Plus with Full Text
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  1. William   Rosa
    235 Rosa
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