Patient counselling at the CK Birla Hospital
Cancer is a life-threatening illness that can cause physical, emotional and psychological restraint on your body. It is important for cancer patients to receive personalized guidance on how to navigate the diverse challenges that come with cancer.
Patient counselling is a process in which a patient has a one-on-one conversation with a detailed therapist. In a counselling journey, the patient is allowed to discover and understand the various psychological and emotional problems during the treatment.
At the Oncology Centre of the CK Birla Hospital, we offer customised, compassionate counselling for cancer patients through all the stages of the treatment. Starting from diagnosis to rehabilitation, our experts are always available to support you in your journey. We extend our counselling services to the family members and caregivers of the patient.
How can counselling help?
Patient counselling for cancer is compassionate, non-judgmental, and understanding care with confidentiality.
Counselling can help the patients in the following manner:
- Understanding symptoms
- Coping your reaction to the diagnosis
- Understanding the side effects of the treatment
- Channelising negative emotions including anxiety, depression, fearfulness, and hopelessness
- Manage irrational beliefs
- Deal with certain phobias
- Understand adaptive mechanisms
- Cope with financial and relationship issues related to cancer
- Manage psychological effects like poor body image, intimacy
- Understand cancer myths and misconceptions
Counselling can help the family members & caregivers in the following manner:
- Discuss your family’s reaction to cancer
- Understanding financial restraints of cancer care
- Understanding the role of a caregiver
- Navigate the emotions of the caregiver
What happens during a counselling session?
You may receive a number of counselling sessions during your cancer treatment. The objective of a counselling session is to help patients express their concerns in a safe and confidential space and seek compassionate support.
Your counsellor or therapist will help you understand the elements of the sessions and engage you in active responses through a range of behavioural therapies. What happens during a counselling session is entirely dependent on the patient, his/her concerns, diagnosis, stage of cancer and way forward defined by medical experts.
When to seek counselling
There is no fixed time to seek counselling. You may seek the help of a therapist as soon as you receive the diagnosis. Usually, counselling is indicated when a patient is experiencing immense, long-lasting distress and is unable to cope with the challenges. Counselling can help you even when your concern is not extremely severe.
The primary intent of counselling is to empower patients to have a mindful approach towards their treatment journey.
Services Offered
- Pre and post-surgery counselling
- Chemotherapy counselling
- Counselling to manage symptoms
- Palliative care counselling
- Grief counselling
- Group and Individual counselling
- Counselling about fertility issues in cancer
- Family and Couples counselling
- Preventive and Lifestyle change-related counselling
Psychologists can help cancer patients understand their cancer diagnosis, manage symptoms, cope with changes in the body, understand financial and emotional restraints, and motivate them to have a mindful approach.
A cancer patient mainly has emotional, physical and psychological needs. Common needs include assessment of psychological and emotional issues, caregiver support, health information about the diagnosis, investigative tests, and family as well as financial issues.
It is important to manage the emotional challenges of cancer patients. Your healthcare provider will help you understand, analyse and manage these issues through individual and group counselling sessions.
