Helping Clients Produce Advance Directives That Work

Price: $90.00

terman Stanley A. Terman received an A.B. from Brown University; a Ph.D. from M.I.T.; and an M.D. from U. Iowa. A board-certified psychiatrist who spent his first five years on the faculty of U C Irvine, he is the founder and current leader of Caring Advocates®. This non-profit organization’s team of clinical, legal, and spiritual professionals is devoted to reducing the suffering of terminally ill patients and their families.

Dr. Terman is the author of The BEST WAY to Say Goodbye (2007) and Peaceful Transitions: Stories of Success and Compassion; Plan Now, Die Later—Ironclad Strategy (Second Ed., 2011); the creator of a new, illustrated Advance Care Planning tool called My Way Cards or Natural Dying Living Will Cards (2011-2) that uses plain, straightforward descriptions with almost no medical jargon; and the developer of a series of strategic forms and videos designed to convince others to honor patients’ Known Wishes. More than a dozen videos explain this unique approach. (Visit the channel, “Plan Now, Die Later-Peacefully” at www.YouTube.com/DrTerman.) Caring Advocates specializes in focusing on solutions to the huge challenge and burdens of Advanced Dementia. The chances are one in six for those who reach the age of 55 will die with dementia. The goal is overcome the challenges to Natural Dying, so that people can attain peaceful transitions that are also timely; that is, neither prolonged nor premature.



Helping Clients Produce Advance Directives That Work

Most people know they should make an Advance Care Directive, yet many do not. Why? Here are two possible reasons. A) They do not really understand the medical conditions and treatment choices. B) They are not convinced that completing these forms will be effective or even be available to clinicians when “that time comes”—if they no longer can speak for themselves. Dr. Stanley Terman’s work over the past decade has strived to fulfill the promise of Advance Directives. Briefly, Caring Advocates’ program makes Advance Care Panning easy, effective, and comprehensive.

-- Easy, so the program can be used by those who have low health literacy or who have already lost some cognitive functioning; for example, individuals who have mild cognitive impairment, early dementia, or clouded consciousness from high doses of pain-relieving medication. (Note: The planning tool has been translated into Spanish, Chinese, Dutch, and German.)

-- Effective, so others WILL honor patients’ Last Wishes—both rapidly and with no, or minimal conflict.

-- Comprehensive, to effectively reduce these two great end-of-life fears: unbearable, unending pain and suffering for days to weeks before dying, and being totally dependent and a enormous burden with no awareness of the sacrifice others are making while not being able to voice a complaint that they are in pain of suffering as they linger in Advanced Dementia for months to years.

This workshop introduces a method to help your clients avoid such conditions so your clients can have peace of mind now that someday, their final transition will be timely and peaceful.


Essentials

1)  When:  Friday, October 26
             8:00am-5:30pm, 
            (light snack served)

2)  Where:  Alliant International
             University
             One Beach Street
             San Francisco

3)  Approval:  9 CE Hrs


What are the Benefits?

1)  Learn  how to help clients and their families  plan for a timely, peaceful transition — whether the diagnosis is Alzheimer’s, a related dementia, or another terminal illness.

2)  Understand why “Natural Dying” can be a “compassionate choice” that respects the moral code of most (even conservative) religions.

3)  Experience a direct, hands-on experience as you make a decision about each of the 48 symptoms, losses of function, unwanted behaviors, and conflicts with lifelong values—one at a time. Generate your own Natural Dying—Living Will. Learn about the various ways you can administer the illustrated “My Way Cards/ Natural Dying Living Will Cards” to your clients.

4)  Learn what forms you can add to create an “ironclad strategy” to overcome a variety of challenges to Natural Dying so your clients can feel confident that others will honor their Known Wishes. Then, they will thus NOT need to consider premature dying to avoid future suffering and burdens in a state they would dread, if prolonged.

5)  Offer this method to your past as well as your present clients—even if they have an Advance Directive—by learning how to evaluate the adequacy of their present forms to relieve pain and suffering and lingering in dementia. (Note: the Natural Dying—Living Will can be added to existing forms.) Be able to example the method’s great potential “return on investment”: Invest a modest amount of informed, structured, and diligent effort now to reduce a huge amount of suffering in the future.



 
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