End-of-life Decision-Making: A Preliminary Outline for Preparing Counselors to Work with Terminally-ill Individuals

Dr. Jill D. Duba, Western Kentucky University
Mary Magenta, Western Kentucky University

Abstract

End of life care is continuously becoming an issue of paramount importance given an increase in medical advances, the aging of the population, and the movement towards contributing towards a quality of life among terminally ill patients.. However, there is a dearth in literature related to this topic specifically in terms of preparing counselors to become competent in working with such clients whom are facing death and whom may be seeking ways of hastening their death. The authors provide learning objectives related to this area, as well as ways of infusing such objectives into the counselor education curriculum.