Introduction
Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully (CALM) is a brief, semi-structured, evidence-based intervention designed to help people with advanced and metastatic cancer, and their close loved ones, manage the practical and profound problems associated with advanced disease. Reduction of psychological distress and prevention of future distress are the primary goals of CALM.
An online introductory workshop delivered over two evenings with Dr. Gary Rodin & Dr. Sarah Hales.
Dates, time, format
Wednesday 4 & Friday 6 March 2026 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm GMT (both days) via online interactive webinar.
Why CALM matters
Advances in cancer treatment have increased survival rates, but more people are now living with advanced disease and facing the psychological and social challenges that come with it.
Living with advanced illness can bring heightened awareness of mortality, fears about disability and pain, difficult care decisions, and the task of finding meaning in daily life while maintaining relationships with loved ones. Depression, anxiety, and even trauma symptoms are common in both patients and their caregivers.
CALM (Managing Cancer and Living Meaningfully) is an evidence-based psychological intervention designed to support people with advanced disease. It helps address emotional distress, enhance coping, and improve quality of life for patients and their families and support individualized care planning at the end of life.
What you will learn
This introductory workshop provides attendees with the theoretical foundations of CALM, review of content and process elements, access to videotaped CALM sessions with real patients, and an opportunity for interactive discussions regarding application of CALM to your clinical practice and setting. You will:
Gain insight into the CALM framework and its practical application in supporting patients with:
Symptom management and communication with healthcare providers;
Changes in self and in relationships with close others;
Sense of meaning and purpose in life; and
Hopes and fears about the future and mortality
Learn how to apply the model with patients in acute traumatic states.
Explore the application of CALM as illustrated through case presentations and videotaped sessions with patients.
Learn about communication, therapeutic relationship building, and facilitating mentalization in those facing advanced cancer.
Learn how to use CALM to support individualized care planning at the end of life.
Who the training is aimed at
The training is suitable for all clinicians working with people who have advanced cancer and/or a palliative diagnosis. It can be applied informally to support conversations by GPs, nurses, and allied health professionals, and can also be integrated with existing psychological therapies for use by counsellors, psychotherapists, and psychologists.
No prior experience or training in psychotherapy is required to attend the workshop.
Delivered by Dr Sarah Hales and Dr Gary Rodin from the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Hosted by the DCHS North Derbyshire Health Psychology Service
Funded by Macmillan Cancer Support
Training providers
Dr. Gary Rodin
Gary Rodin is the Director of the Global Institute of Psychosocial, Palliative and End-of-Life Care (GIPPEC) and a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He leads an internationally recognized clinical and research program at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre focused on the development, evaluation and global implementation of novel psychotherapeutic interventions to improve the psychological well-being and quality of life of patients with life-threatening and advanced cancer and their families. Under his leadership, the Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret has now achieved an international reputation for its academic and clinical excellence.
Dr. Rodin has been recognized for his global efforts to ensure universal access to psychosocial and palliative interventions and optimal end-of-life care and is a Co-Lead of the Lancet Oncology Commission on The Human Crisis of Cancer.
Dr. Sarah Hales
Sarah Hales is a Psychosocial Oncology (PSO) Co-lead and a staff psychiatrist in the Department of Supportive Care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto and a clinician investigator and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. Her research has been funded by agencies including Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Her clinical and research interests include the end-of-life experience as it affects both patients and families, and psychotherapeutic interventions aimed at alleviating distress in those facing advanced disease.
Further opportunities
A limited number of places will be available for clinicians who attend the webinar to undertake a full year of training in the CALM model.
Booking Information
Cost: Free for eligible (funded by Macmillan Cancer Support)
Eligibility: Open to clinicians working in palliative care / advanced cancer in Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire
This event is hosted by the Derbyshire Health Psychology Service (DCHS) and funded in partnership with MacMillian Cancer Support.
Deadline: March 6th @ 05:00pm
Venue: Virtual (Zoom)
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An individualized therapy designed to help patients manage the challenges of living with cancer, reduce distress and promote psychological well-being