A. Teaching & Training Program
COPER was the first centre in the country to start a structured training program in Clinical Psycho-oncology. Given the manpower need and to create the critical mass of manpower pool of Psycho-oncology, COPER-HCG developed a teaching, training and Psycho-oncology service model. The Model is as below:
- One Year Post Graduate Diploma Program in Clinical Psycho-oncology is offered to Masters in Clinical and Counseling psychology. The program is geared to prepare candidates in dealing with complex psychosocial and emotional issues and concerns of cancer patients and their families
- The Fellowship program: Prepares MSWs and doctors in Clinical communication skills and Crisis intervention.
- The Certification program: As the first point of contact for patients nurses are trained in clinical communication skills, distress screening and psychological rehabilitation.
B. Psycho-oncology Service:
The Psycho-oncology Service caters to both adult and pediatric oncology patients and offers services to both In and Out patients. While it services patients at HCG, it also caters to patients referred from outside agencies.
The Psycho-oncology Service structure is as below:-
Psycho-oncology Services: (Free Service)
The Psycho-oncology service offers tailor made Psychological intervention after Distress screening, structured Psychological assessment and clinical interview. The session duration varies from patient to patient, but on an average it is 2 hours per patient for each session. The various Psychological interventions offered are:- Individual Therapy
- Marital therapy
- Family therapy
- Sex Counseling
- End-of-life care
- Grief and Bereavement management
- Tobacco Cessation & De-addiction
- Jacobsen’s Relaxation Technique
- Systematic Desensitization etc.
- Brain Lab Services: (Charged service)
The Brain Lab services at HCG-COPER is called C.A.R.E.S (Cognitive Assessment & Remediation Services). This service undertakes neurocognitive assessments which include assessments of attention, concentration, memory, language, motor functioning etc. Based on the neurocognitive difficulties, tailor made remediation plan is drawn out for functional restoration. The service is offered to both adult and pediatric cancer patients. -
HCG L.I.F.E Services: (Free Service)
HCG L.I.F.E (Living It to the Fullest Extent) undertakes Need assessment of patients and based on their needs services are offered to patients. This service is a one-stop-shop for patients, where all the subspecialties of cancer care are under one umbrella. The services offered to patients based on the needs include the following:- Psycho-oncology
- Genetic counseling
- Fertility counseling
- Tobacco Cessation & De-addiction
- Pain & symptom management
- Diet counseling
- Speech & Swallow Clinic
- Physiotherapy
- Psychological Rehabilitation services (Stoma Care, prosthesis, wigs etc.)
- Psychological auxiliary services viz., Yoga, meditation etc.
C. Emotional Support Group Programs:
- S.T.H.R.I (Support To Holistically Restore the Individual): STHRI is a Emotional Support Group program for Breast cancer patients. It’s a professionally run comprehensive group program with a team of Psycho-oncologists, Physiotherapist, Dietician and Yoga therapist along with trained volunteers (breast cancer survivors). The program is run in an ambience of complete privacy and confidentiality in the hospital setting.
- C.H.E.E.R.S: (Children’s Health, Educational, Emotional Restoration Services): CHEERS is an Emotional support group for children touched by cancer. It is a professionally run comprehensive group program with a team of Psycho-oncologists, Physiotherapist, Dietician and Yoga therapist along with trained volunteers (Paediatric cancer survivors). The program is run in an ambience of complete privacy and confidentiality in the hospital setting.
- E.M.P.A.T.H.Y: (Empower Parents And Train them in Handling their Young): EMPATHY is an Emotional support group for Parents of Children touched by cancer. It is a professionally run comprehensive group program with a team of Psycho-oncologists, Physiotherapist, Dietician and Yoga therapist along with trained volunteers (Parent (s) of Paediatric cancer survivors). The program is run in an ambience of complete privacy and confidentiality in the hospital setting.
D. Research:
COPER engages in both in-house projects and research through grants
- In-house Research Projects
- Commissioned Research Projects
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Established proof of concept for establishing Psycho-oncology in India, through three research projects:
- Prevalence of Psychological Distress in Cancer patients: A Nationwide pilot study. (N= 2598 cancer patient, across 21 cancer centres in the India)
- Nation Wide Web Based Survey of oncologists in India: Importance of Integrating Psycho-oncology into main stream cancer care. (N= 200)
- Analysis of Patient feedback of Psycho-oncology Service (N=500)
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Developed Institutional protocol for Routine Distress Screening through a retrospective study.
- Oncologists’ Proficiency In Identifying Psychological Distress: Hits & Misses
- Distress screening practices an nationwide survey
- Developed and copy righted models of Psychosocial care unique to the Indian ethos
- Developed Institutional protocol for cancer psychosocial care
A Distinct advantage of COPER-HCG alliance :
COPER an aegis of Health Care Global Enterprises (HCG). HCG is South Asia’s biggest cancer centre and is servicing cancer patients for the past 30 years. HCG has a Pan India presence with 26 cancer centres and 4 centres overseas. It has excellent infrastructure and state-of-the-art facilities. The following are the strengths of the centres.
- COPER was the first centre in the country to engage in formal structured training in Clinical Psycho-oncology and has nearly 15 years experience.
- Developed patient centric curriculum for Clinical Psycho-oncology teaching and training. The 1 Year Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psycho-oncology is verified and endorsed by IPOS.
- Annually Pan HCG nearly 120,000 cancer patients undergo cancer treatment and Bangalore centre alone services nearly 5,000 patients. Thus, students have access to large number of cancer patients and their families- a valuable mandatory clinical resource for teaching and training in clinical psycho-oncology.
- Academic wing of HCG offers DNBs and various oncology fellowship programs. This provides for highly qualified and experienced multidisciplinary faculty Pan India, providing students a sound foundation in various aspects of Psycho-oncology.
- Since HCG has a chain of hospitals within and outside the country and several more in the pipeline, job placement for qualified psycho-oncologists in this joint venture is promising. Besides, of nearly 375 cancer centres in the country, only about 20 of them have qualified and trained Psycho-oncologists, which further provides greater job opportunities for students in this program.
To schedule an appointment with the Psycho-oncology Clinical Division, please contact:
Centre of Psychooncology for Education and Research (COPER)
“Sanchitha”, 206, 39th Cross
5th Block Jayanagar, Bengaluru.
Phone: +91 - 080 - 65630099 / 41230024.