Continuing Education for Psychologists

WHEN PROFESSIONALS WEEP, 2nd Edition
Emotional and Countertransference Responses in End-of-Life Care

When Professionals Weep speaks to the humbling and often transformational moments that clinicians experience in their careers as caregivers and healers–moments when it is often hard to separate the influence of our own emotional responses and worldviews from the patient's or family's. When Professionals Weep addresses these poignant moments–when the professional's personal experiences with trauma, illness, death, and loss can subtly, often stealthily, surface and affect the helping process. This edition, like the first, both validates clinicians' experiences and also helps them process and productively address compassion fatigue, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress.

New material in the second edition includes increased emphasis on the burgeoning fields of hospice and palliative care, organizational countertransference, mindfulness, and compassionate practice. It includes thought-provoking cases, self-assessments, and exercises that can be used on an individual, dyadic, or group basis. This volume is an invaluable handbook for practitioners in the fields of medicine, mental health, social work, nursing, chaplaincy, the allied health sciences, psychology, and psychiatry.

Renee S. Katz, PhD, FT, is a licensed psychologist, board-certified diplomate in clinical social work, and fellow in thanatology. A clinician, author, and trainer, she has worked with the dying, the bereaved, and those living with serious illness for more than 30 years.

Therese A. Johnson, LMHC, NCC, is a psychotherapist who has worked in the field of end-of-life care, grief counseling, and traumatic loss for 20 years. She currently serves on the End-of-Life Coalition Committee of the Washington State Medical Association.

"When Professionals Weep illuminates the healthy use of one's own self as a helping professional when caring for critically ill and dying patients and their family members. Without getting lost in psychoanalytic jargon, the authors provide practical tools and examples for the use of countertransference not only as an obstacle to be overcome but as a valuable means to more empathic care."
--The Rev. Pamela Cooper-White, PhD, Christiane Brooks Johnson Professor of Psychology and Religion at Union Theological Seminary

"I encourage all caregivers to accept this powerful invitation to constructively self-critical practice in end-of-life and palliative care. Deeply introspective, caring, and generous professionals acknowledge their vulnerability to allowing personal experiences and issues to interfere in attuning to the particularities of what matters most to those they serve and offer invaluable guidance for recognizing the many 'hooks' of countertransference and turning that self-knowledge to their advantage in shaping the best possible caring relationships."
-- Thomas Attig, PhD, professor of philosophy emeritus at Bowling Green State University and recipient of the 2015 ADEC Death Educator Award

"Much has been written about the psychosocial needs of patients but far less about the experiences and needs of professionals. The second edition of When Professionals Weep eloquently describes these experiences. It is a beautiful portrayal of the sacred work of caring for the seriously ill and the first requirement to do that well-caring for ourselves."
--Betty Ferrell, PhD, RN, MA, FAAN, FPCN, CHPN, director and professor of nursing research and education at City of Hope in Duarte, California

"All of our life experiences are like knots. We need to untie these knots or we are vulnerable to being 'hooked.' Countertransference occurs when clinical experiences hook onto our knots. In When Professionals Weep, 2nd edition, experienced clinicians reflect on countertransference experiences from a variety of settings and offer insights and practical solutions that will help clinicians at all levels. Another great contribution to the field from Katz and Johnson!"
--Mary L.S. Vachon, PhD, RN, professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a psychotherapist in private practice