When Professionals Weep: Emotional and Countertransference Responses in End-Of-Life Care

Diverse leaders in the field of death, dying, and bereavement, address the issues surrounding the intersection of the personal and the professional in the unique context of end-of-life care.

End-of-life care (EOL) is a specialized area of work that crosses a number of academic and professional disciplines, including social work, counseling, hospice, physical medicine, geriatrics, nursing, counseling, psychology, and clerical work. Professionals who work in EOL have often had deeply moving personal experiences with trauma, death, and loss in their own lives, and almost inevitably bring their own histories, memories, notions, and assumptions to their work. These countertransference responses can be both complex and subtle.

Renee S. Katz, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and licensed clinical social worker in private practice in Washington. A board-certified diplomate in clinical social work, she has also chaired the ethics committee of the Association of Death Educators and Counselors (ADEC) and has been an active member in ADEC, the APA and NASW in addition to local organizations in Washington.

Therese A. Johnson, LMHC, NCC, has worked in the field of end-of-life care, grief counseling and traumatic loss for twenty years. She currently serves on the End-of-Life Consensus Coalition Committee of the Washington State Medical Association.