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Outpatient therapists are increasingly likely to work with clients who are living with serious illness, facing a limited prognosis, or caregiving for a loved one whose time may be limited. These clinical encounters can bring intense emotional, relational, ethical, and practical complexity into the therapy room. Therapists may feel unsure what to say, how much to ask about medical care, how to coordinate with medical teams, or how to manage their own grief, fear, avoidance, or countertransference.

This course prepares outpatient therapists to provide grounded, compassionate, clinically appropriate support to clients and caregivers navigating life-limiting illnesses. Participants will learn how to support clients through the emotional impact of diagnosis, progression, prognosis, and caregiving; assess and cultivate prognostic awareness without forcing acceptance; help clients clarify goals, values, and advance care planning wishes; prepare clients and caregivers for medical appointments, family meetings, hospital admissions, and care transitions; and recognize therapist countertransference, grief, and the need for reflective self-care.

Arden O’Donnell, PhD, MPH, LICSW, APHSW-C, is a palliative care social worker, researcher, and educator whose work focuses on communication, prognostic awareness, and the role of social work in caring for people with serious illness. Her dissertation examined palliative social workers’ contributions to hospital-based interdisciplinary teams. Her recent publications explore social workers’ contributions to high-quality, patient-centered palliative care and their role in helping patients and families understand prognosis. 

Arden’s longstanding commitment to palliative care began through international public health work with people living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe and Lesotho. She began her social work career as a Pediatric Palliative Care Fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital and later joined the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Palliative Care Service.

A dedicated educator, Arden teaches social work in health care at Smith College and Boston University. She also teaches communication and palliative care skills to interprofessional clinicians, residents, and medical students and is a VitalTalk-trained facilitator.