Shelley A. Johns, PsyD, explains how avoidant coping in care discussions can strain patient-family communication.
Transcript:
Family members want to try to be supportive and upbeat. They want to try to maintain hope, and they want the patient to maintain hope. And so sometimes, family members
say, “Oh, we don’t have to talk about that yet. You’re still doing really well. We don’t have to talk about all that.” So that can be a form of avoidant coping where maybe the family member doesn’t want to talk about these issues, but it can go the other way too. Sometimes the family member really wants to get clarity on what kinds of care the patient wants to receive, but the patient just does not want to talk about it. And so it can be really challenging for both patients and family members when one or the other party just is really not willing to talk about these issues.
Dr. Johns mentions how mindfulness can be used as a referral tool for healthcare providers.
Transcript:
Mindfulness is a promising intervention for people with advanced-stage cancer and their family caregivers. We have very promising outcomes with regard to advance care planning with regard to existential well-being for people with advanced-stage cancer, and so I just would invite my healthcare provider colleagues to put mindfulness in your toolbox with regard to the types of programs that you refer patients to because mindfulness can be helpful for those who are receptive to it.
