Meet the Expert II

Prof. Gary Rodin, Ph.D.

From the Practical to the Profound: Psychological Disturbances and Interventions with Advanced Disease

Psychosocial care has been regarded as central to palliative and supportive care. Anxiety, grief, fears of physical suffering, dependency and vulnerability as well as depression, hopelessness, and the desire for hastened death are common causes of psychological distress for patients in all stages of end-of-life care.  

However, few individual psychotherapeutical interventions have been developed to meet these essential needs and even less have been tested empirically. Professor Rodin is one of the leading advocates to focus on research in order to improve psychosocial care at the end of life. In this session, he will discuss these issues and talk about interventions such as Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) and others as well as his findings with regard to risk factors for psychological distress in patients suffering from terminal diseases.

Gary Rodin is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and holds the University of Toronto/University Health Network Harold and Shirley Lederman Chair in Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care. He is a Senior Scientist in the Ontario Cancer Institute and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Rodin leads a research team focused on the investigation and treatment of the psychological consequences of metastatic and advanced disease. He has recently completed a unique five year