• Describe differences between grief, persistent complex bereavement disorder, demoralization, adjustment disorder with depressive features, and major depressive disorder in order to choose effective treatment options.
• Formulate appropriate pharmacologic treatment plans for mental disorders commonly co-occurring in patients in hospice and palliative care based on current understandings of key neurotransmitters in the generation and treatment of these disorders as well as best practices for agent selection and consideration for adverse effects.
• Compare and contrast the psychotherapeutic interventions in hospice and palliative care.
• Decipher how common communication techniques in palliative care can be viewed through a psychodynamic framework.

Session Outcomes:

• Recognize the role of key neurotransmitters in mediating mental disorders commonly co-occurring in patients in palliative and hospice care settings.
• Evaluate best practices for psychotropic agent selection among commonly encountered mental health diagnoses in hospice and palliative care contexts.
• Propose a systematic process to deprescribing for patients receiving palliative and hospice services.

Session Outcomes:

• Describe criteria for common anxiety diagnoses in palliative care patients.
• Identify potential triggers in serious illness treatment that can initiate or exacerbate anxiety symptoms.
• Evaluate unique treatment options to treat anxiety in palliative care patients for practice application.

Session Outcomes:

• Compare and contrast the differences between grief, persistent complex bereavement disorder, and demoralization.
• Identify the differences between adjustment disorder with depressive features, major depressive disorder, and depression due to a general medical condition.
• Design effective treatment plans for these commonly-occurring clinical entities including use of both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic modalities.

Session Outcomes:

• Describe common neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with dementia with behavioral disturbance.
• Compare and contrast risks and benefits of psychotropics that have evidence for the treatment of severe agitation and aggression associated with dementia.
• Assess typical behavioral disturbances and determine whether psychotropic medication is indicated.

Session Outcomes:

• Describe common challenges in diagnosing mental disorders in the palliative and hospice care settings.
• Evaluate evidence for differing approaches to the diagnosis of depression in the medically ill.
• Identify effective clinical tools and approaches for addressing diagnostic challenges related to depression and delirium.