Spirituality and End-of-Life Care Conference

Hosted by Hospice of the Valley and Sponsored by Dignity Memorial and Westsat Communications

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Wyndham Hotel, San Jose CA

8:30am – 3:30pm

Keynote: Richard Groves, co-founder and executive director, Sacred Art of Living Center for Spiritual Formation

Richard Groves' keynote, Spirituality at End of Life, will offer opportunities for the participants to learn that while suffering can take a heavy toll on a person, paradoxically, it also has a unique capacity to transform. Stories of transformation demonstrate important insights into the remarkable power of the human psyche for healing in the face of pain and crisis. Some of the wisdom lessons to be explored in this presentation are: Meaningfulness makes us well while meaningless makes us sick; leaning into the pain is the only path to transformation and, if you have cancer in a well self, you will thrive.

Community Panel of Experts:

• Carlyle Coash, MA, BCC, Former Hospice Director and Chaplain, Zen Hospice, San Francisco
• Frederick J. Parrella, PhD, Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara
• Pamela Nates, MDiv, Chaplain, Hospice of the Valley, San Jose
• Sally Adelus, President & CEO, Hospice of the Valley, San Jose

Spirituality and End-of-Life Care will discuss the differences and relationship between spirituality and religion, while also addressing spirituality during illness, death and grief; spiritual assessment and empowerment, and life review. The program will feature a distinguished panel of national experts, including:

• Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv, Professor of Gerontology at The College of New Rochelle
• Gary S. Fink, DMin, Chaplain and Dementia Project Coordinator at Montgomery Hospice, and Adjunct Faculty at Hood College Graduate School
• Carolyn Jacobs, PhD, MSW, Dean and Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor at Smith College, School for Social Work
• Betty Kramer, PhD, MSW, Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Social Work
• Reinette Powers Murray, MSN, CNS, RN, Consultant to The Peaceful Journey-End-of-Life Process program, and Assistant Professor at Lake Superior State University, School of Nursing
• Martha Rutland, DMin, BCC, ACPE, Director of Clinical Pastoral Education at VITAS Innovative Hospice Care

Clergy, Hospital Chaplains, Social Workers, Physicians, Nurses, Case Managers, Therapists, Counselors, Psychologists, Art Therapists, Funeral Directors, and other healthcare professionals are encouraged to attend.

Conference registration is$25 which includes continental breakfast, lunch, program, keynote presentation and two continuing education credits. Three additional CE credits will be available online through Hospice Foundation of America for $25. An online access code for CEUs will be provided at the conclusion of the conference.

For learning objectives, visit hospicevalley.org/professionalevents.html

For additional information, contact Jeanne Wun via email at jwun@hospicevalley.org or by phone at 408.559.5600x5423

Hosted by Hospice of the Valley 

Sponsored by Dignity Memorial and Westsat Communications 

 *Hospice Foundation of America is also offering access to three follow-up webinar programs (1 CE per webinar) that will address aspects of spirituality at life's end in greater depth. There is no charge for CE's for professionals (for the webinar series only) for the first week after each live start date.

• Beginning May, 2011, Date TBD- Leaving Legacies: Spiritual Meaning Making at the End-of-Life (Part 1): Reminiscence and Life Review (90 min) - This webinar reviews the theory and techniques behind life review and reminiscence therapies focusing on the ways that such techniques can assist meaning-making at the end-of-life.  The webinar also discusses strategies that can be utilized in cases where life reviews may be problematic or psychologically threatening.

• Beginning June, 2011, Date TBD- Leaving Legacies: Spiritual Meaning Making at the End-of-Life (Part 2):  Dignity Enhancement Therapies, Living Eulogies and Other Meaning-Making Approaches (90 min) - This webinar explores other techniques for meaning-making at the end of life including Dignity Enhancement Therapy, Meaning-Centered Therapy, Living Eulogies and other approaches that assist persons at the end-of-life in affirming a sense personal significance and meaning.

• Beginning July, 2011, Date TBD- The Dark Night of the Soul:  Assisting Clients Coping with Spiritual Distress at the End-of-Life (90 min) - In this webinar, clinicians and clergy are offered tools and perspectives for clients struggling with spiritual difficulties at the end of life such as spiritual fears and anxieties, spiritual concerns and struggles, or other spiritual issues that arise as the person faces mortality.