The Integrative Palliative Podcast

Loneliness is rampant and so many of us are starved for touch. Cuddle therapy is an interesting treatment modality that provides platonic touch by trained cuddle therapists. Have you tried it? Let us know. If you'd like more info about cuddle therapy or to find a cuddle therapist, here's a resource: www.cuddlist.com I am not affiliated with them or endorsing them but they do have a &apos...

Talking about tough stuff like serious illness, advancing illness or end of life issues can be stressful. This week you'll hear 5 very practical and effective strategies for mastering these tough conversations. Physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, social workers, chaplains, home health aides, and people caring for a loved one with a serious illness will all find benefit in t...

Battling stress and preventing burnout is an active process. If you have a stressful job, like being an Emergency Medicine physician in a pandemic, actively working on yourself is protective. Dr. Tamara Beckford is an Emergency Medicine physician and expert in burnout prevention and wellbeing. She shares her personal steps for managing her wellbeing while working in a stressful environment. You&ap...

Having a parent with declining cognitive function is one of the most stressful experiences that you will face.  It can be hard to know how to approach your parent(s) about the decline. You want to keep them safe, but they may not want your help. It can be a long road, so having a coping plan from the start is important. Here are 8 suggestions for how to cope. Reach out anytime, Dr. C Delia Chiaram...

This week I've been on the other side of the palliative care coin with a family member and my family doggie. I noticed five themes that applied in both places and I share them this week. What did I miss? What would you add? Dr. C Delia Chiaramonte, MD P.S. The Conscious Coping program is starting in late July. If you have an ill loved one and you'd like more clarity about how to deal wit...

Being in the hospital is hard. It can be overwhelming, exhausting and feel like a completely out of control experience. Whether you are a physician, other clinician or family member of someone who is ill, these six tips will help you improve the wellbeing of people in the hospital. What other tips would you suggest? Send me a message with your suggestions https://integrativepalliative.com/contact-...

Mia Redrick is the real deal. She is a life coach and business coach who has dealt with significant chronic and serious illness in her family. Mia will show you how to show up for yourself in a powerful way, even while living a busy life or caring for someone who is ill.  You don't want to miss this episode. Think of two friends who are stressed and send them this episode immediately!  If you...

You will love this week's guest! Cal Cates is a massage therapist as well as the founder and Executive Director of Healwell, a non-profit whose mission is to touch people affected by serious illness, teach massage therapists how to provide that touch, and to advocate for a broader role for those therapists in serious illness care. They have trained thousands of healthcare providers in the ski...

It is hard to talk to a loved one about their serious illness. And it can be hard to counsel families about how to communicate well. Knowing your own communication style and that of the patient can help make communication easier. This podcast will discuss 6 different communication styles: Direct & open, reserved & private, emotional & expressive, passive or reliant, information-seeking...

Anticipatory grief is common and normal but it is rarely talked about, which leaves people to suffer alone. Beginning to grieve for the loss of a loved one before they have died can be hard. In this week's podcast we discuss ten things that a grieving loved one can do with their loved one during this challenging time. I'm glad you're here, Dr. C Delia Chiaramonte, MD P.S. Soon I&apo...

What is the difference between sympathy, empathy, and compassion? They are each approaches to other people's suffering; however, sympathy is distancing, empathy is supportive, and compassion includes a component of action. How do you tend to respond to other people's suffering? I'm glad you're here, Dr. C Delia Chiaramonte, MD P.S. I'm starting a program for people with ai...

Welcome to The Game of Joy! This week Joy Ambassador, Yasmin Nguyen, shares his inspiring story of struggle and exploration that led him to write his book The Game of Joy. There is so much in this episode for everyone. Discover your "joy blockers," what to do when you encounter "unjoy" and how to play the "game of joy." Here's where you'll find Yasmin: https...

Have you said any of these things to your patients? "Unfortunately,..." "Your MRI is one of the worst I've even seen." "Your knee is bone on bone" If so, you may have elicited the nocebo response. The nocebo response is the opposite of the placebo response and it can increase your patients' pain, nausea, fatigue, anxiety and more. Words are powerful. They ca...

Do you have a ton of open charts? Are you charting at night in your PJs? Do you feel overwhelmed by work tasks? Are you also intuitive and a connector? Do you get totally engaged in the things that you enjoy? If that sounds like you, you might have ADHD. Many high functioning people have ADHD (often inattentive type) but they just don't know it. Come learn from Dr. Diana Mercado Marmarosh, a...

The healthcare system is rough on everyone. Physicians and patients are both frustrated and everyone has a point. This week we talk about three big topics that come up in the hospital: information, emotions and decisions.  We discuss them from the clinicians' perspective and then from the patients' perspective so that we can better understand each other. The system is frustrating for eve...

Dr. Rashmi Schramm is a meditation & life coach, and a generally sage and wonderful human being. She offers tons of practical tools to help us feel better, stress less and find joy in day to day life.  She will teach you to spend a little less time DOING and a little more time BEING. You'll leave this episode with techniques that you can use to make your life better, starting today. If yo...

Pets are like family and it can be terribly painful and difficult when they get sick.  Should you take them for surgery? Do the intensive testing? How do you know when it's time to think about euthanasia? This week's episode is all about pets and palliative care.  You'll learn about the pet palliative care that is going on in my home, and if you listen closely you can hear my sick d...

Dr. Kara Wada is an allergist, immunologist and lifestyle medicine physician. She had years of vague and unexplained symptoms that ultimately resulted in a diagnosis of Sjögren's syndrome.  This diagnosis spurred her to explore ways to control her symptoms and improve her health. This week Dr. Wada shares her journey and offers many tips for reducing inflammation and managing rheumatologic di...

Compassion fatigue is the negative impact that caring for patients can have on caring clinicians over time. It can happen when we are witness to repeated suffering, when we don't get time to replenish ourselves or when we see multiple micro-injustices (like patients getting sicker because they can't afford their medications) over time. With these three important steps we can prevent comp...

How many of these hospice myths did you believe? Hospice is kind but misunderstood! If everyone truly understood what hospice is, how it helps, when you should have it, and when you want it but can't get it, the world would be a better place. There would be less suffering and I am all about helping people suffer less. Listen and see how many hospice myths we can bust. I'm glad you'r...

Unfortunately our world has a lot of tragedies and people may reach out to you for help when they are dealing with hard things. Or you may be dealing with hard things in your own life. It can feel overwhelming and you may be unsure of exactly what to do to help. This week we discuss a 8-step plan for coping successfully when something really tough has rocked your world.  As always, use this info f...

There are a lot of questions and myths on the topic of aromatherapy. Is it safe? Is there evidence of benefit? How exactly should we be using it? Dr. Ann Huntington, internist and expert in essential oils, will answer all those questions for us, and more. She also offers a course on the science of aromatherapy for physicians and has generously offered a discount to my listeners. You can find info...

When a parent gets seriously ill or has a significant decline in function, the care often falls on the children unevenly. This can create significant family conflict and fracture important sibling relationships. This week I talk about 5 things to suggest to your patient to help solve this sticky problem. Reach out anytime! Dr. C. Delia Chiaramonte, MD www.integrativepalliative.com   Coping Courage...

Welcome to The Integrative Palliative Podcast where we talk about integrative symptom management and physician wellbeing, because every physician deserves to have satisfying work and every patient deserves an effective and joyful physician! This week we are talking about what to do when the patient doesn't want to talk about their diagnosis.  Should you force the issue? Let it go? There are t...

If you're a physician, or other clinician, you spend a lot of time supporting family members of seriously ill people. But what about when the family member is you? Everyone suffers when their family member is ill, but physicians (and other clinicians) may carry an extra burden when someone they love is sick. Listen this week for 8 things to do if you are a physician and someone that you love...