Dignity Therapy Training – an experiential 3 day workshop
What is Dignity Therapy (DT)?
Dignity Therapy invites participants with a life-limiting condition to reflect upon who they are, what they have done and learnt in life, and what they would like to say to the people who matter the most to them. From a guided interview, a printed legacy document is created for the participant to share with chosen family and friends. It affirms the personhood of participants, while helping them recognise the legacy they leave and offering a way of ‘saying goodbye’ to family and friends through the legacy document.
The workshop
The workshop will cover: model of dignity which underpins DT; interview process & skills; transcription using AI; editing, review and formatting of the interview transcript to create a legacy document; complications and challenges that may be encountered; research evidence for DT; some practicalities of providing DT.
Over the course of the three days participants will gain experience in each facet of Dignity Therapy as they conduct a mini Dignity Therapy interview with a partner, which they will then transcribe, edit and finally present to their partner. Some ‘homework’ of 1-2 hours will likely be required at the end of days 1 and 2.
Pre-requisite skills
At the core of Dignity Therapy is the critical skill of empathic listening, accompanied by the ability to sit compassionately with what is often deeply emotional content while gently and skilfully guiding an interview. These foundational skills are essential for all participants in the training.
Transcription and editing are typically the most time-consuming aspects of DT, requiring moderate skill with word processing and formatting, and (for optimal efficiency) interaction with an AI interface for transcription.
The presenter: Russell Armstrong (DT Project Manager with Barwon Health)
Russell trained in DT with its developer Prof. Harvey Chochinov in 2012. He has personally provided DT to over 100 participants, seeing the profound benefit it offers to them and their loved ones. Since 2014 he has co-led, trained and mentored a team who have provided DT to a further 250 participants.