| Abstract: |
(from the chapter) The art and science of psycho-oncology has evolved significantly over the past 40 years (see Chapter 1). As an interprofessional field, contributions to the growing body of knowledge and best practices have come from varied sources, including psychiatry, psychology, nursing, social work, and pastoral counseling. The care of oncology patients has shifted substantially from inpatient to ambulatory care settings due to advances in treatment and a general trend in healthcare toward cost-effective office- and community-based services. As a result, psycho-oncology training, primarily conducted on inpatient units in the past, has witnessed a similar shift in focus toward ambulatory settings. Many of the traditional areas of focus within psycho-oncology training have remained a priority. These include teaching mental heafth providers how to help patients cope with new cancer diagnoses, recurrences of illness, and end of life issues, and to manage the palliative care issues related to treatment side effects, fatigue, pain, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. As the field has evolved, there has been increased attention within training programs on survivors' health and well-being and on addressing the needs of family caregivers who provide far more medical and psychosocial support today than ever before, while carrying the usual burden of family and work obligations. This chapter provides an overview of training in psycho-oncology for psychiatrists and psychologists. Core competencies, training goals, and training programs are described. A strategy for increasing the number of professionals in these disciplines who are competent to meet the needs of individuals with cancer is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved). |
