Therapists and health professionals working with the terminally ill become engaged in the most profound questions related to the human condition. Until recently, the influence of psychoanalytic thinking on this area of practice has been minimal, yet there are few therapeutic encounters which hold such possibility for personal growth for both patients providers.

Gary Rodin will present and discuss a number of recent developments in psychoanalytic theory related to working with patients facing advanced and terminal illness. He will introduce an approach to psychotherapeutic interaction which draws upon recent developments in psychoanalytic theory as well as findings from a systematic research project with terminally ill patients. The implications of this work will be discussed in terms of existential questions that inevitably arise and need to be addressed in all clinical work.