Fundamental Palliative Care Training for Social Workers

Critical Palliative Care Skills for Social Workers and Counselors

Every day social workers and counselors work with clients whose long-term suffering, whether from physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual distress, is deeply affecting their quality of life. Families and loved ones may be affected as well.

Infuse your talent reserves with new or refreshed knowledge from the CSU Institute for Palliative Care’s fully online course, Critical Skills for Social Workers and Counselors. Conducted in a cohort, students enrolled in this course are led by a qualified instructor, and have the opportunity to meet and interact with peers and colleagues from all over the nation and in widely diverse practice settings.

“I loved the course! It was so helpful to me and I plan to utilize all the resources and interventions in my practice.”

-Recent Student

Register for the brochure on this course by clicking HERE to sign up.

If you are a counselor or social worker in healthcare, a social service agency, an aging services organization, a school, or in private practice, Critical Skills for Social Workers and Counselors can give you tools for:

• Addressing psychosocial distress and suffering caused by serious or chronic illness
• Helping clients and families define values and priorities
• Facilitating communication among patients, families and the professional care team
• Discussing goals of care/services with patients and families

During this 8-week course, you will sharpen or gain key skills:

Week 1: Care Provision

Exploration of types of care provision and the teams that deliver care. What kind of team do you work in?

Week 2: Critical Thinking

Critical thinking, self-examination, self-awareness. What level of ambiguity are you comfortable with? What are your firm beliefs? How do these help or hinder your work?

Week 3: Positive Problem Solving

Using problem solving skills not only with patients but within your work team and administrative leaders. Looking at role delineation, boundaries and flexibility, assertiveness, going outside our comfort zone.

Week 4: Assessment

This is at the foundation of social work practice. How is the assessment process altered when chronic illness, depression, and lack of support systems underpins the client’s situation?

Week 5: Counseling Skills and Motivational Interviewing

Moving from emotional support to action plans and targeted clinical solutions.

Week 6: Mindfulness and Person-Centered Plans

Understanding automatic thoughts, changing negative thoughts to positive thoughts. How do family dynamics come into play?

Week 7: Our Role in Pain and Symptom Management

How Social Workers and Counselors can impact symptoms. Looking at Scope of Practice and working within an interdisciplinary model.

Week 8: Advances in Death, Dying, Grief and Loss

Understanding grief and loss starts at the onset of illness. Assessing needs and using techniques for resilience and meaning making in the face of loss.

What are students saying about this course?

I am using the motivational interviewing decisional balance which is amazing! I am more comfortable with people with a terminal illness and feel like I have more knowledge and tools which is really gratifying!!!

The instructor provided helpful feedback to each person submitting to the class’s discussion journal entries. She suggested interventions that could be implemented practically.

I loved the course! It was so helpful to me and I plan to utilize all the resources and interventions in my practice.

Fast Facts

Begins:	TBA
Lasts:	8 weeks
Is taught:	Completely online, available 24/7
Offers:	48 Continuing Education Hours
Costs:	$629
Requires:	Students have computing skills sufficient to complete graduate work
Textbook is:	All materials included
Is taught by:	Currently practicing social workers in palliative care.
Is ideal for:	Experienced and new social workers and counselors working in hospitals, hospices, skilled nursing facilities, physician offices, home care settings, clinics, insurance groups and private practice.
Is open to:	Social Workers (BSW, MSW, LCSW), Psychotherapist Counselors (MFTI, LMFT, Psychologists, LPCC, LEP), Gerontologist Counselors
Provides:	Opportunities to interact with and build a network of peers and colleagues

The 8-week online course has been designed by leading palliative care experts who are actively engaged in today’s palliative care issues.

Critical Skills in Palliative Care participants will learn to:

• Effectively support individuals experiencing serious or chronic illness
• Discuss strategies in working with a multidisciplinary care team.
• Use critical thinking and positive problem solving in the context of palliative care
• Perform palliative psychosocial assessments
• Discuss the social worker and counselor’s contributions to pain and symptom management
• Develop person-centered palliative care plans
• Improve communications between the patient/family and care team
• Assist in the development of a comprehensive care treatment plans
• Use cutting edge therapeutic techniques to help patients and families throughout the illness continuum.
• Navigate common ethical concerns in working with death and dying.

Who Attends this Course?

• This course is ideal for social workers that currently work or hope to work as part of a palliative care team in a health system, skilled nursing facility, physician practice, or other non-hospice care setting.
• Social workers wanting to learn how to integrate palliative care skills into their work caring for seriously or chronically ill patients.
• Social workers seeking to increase their ability to support patients and their families in their final years of life.

Critical Palliative Care Skills teaches the essential skills that every social worker needs to know. If your career involves even occasional involvement with palliative care, then you’ll find this engaging and interactive course an ideal way to build your confidence and keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

Course Information

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