The Center for Oncology Psychology Excellence Graduate School of Professional Psychology, University of Denver
Pictured: The Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy speaks at COPE's annual event in February
A Letter from the Dean
Shelly Smith-Acuña, PhD
Dear COPE friends and supporters,
I am thrilled to acknowledge all that COPE has achieved during the past year. Consistent with our school-wide Redefining Mental Health theme, COPE takes a broad view of mental wellness and provides training, service, and research that helps cancer survivors and their support systems use psychological resources to promote reliance and healing. While this may sound like an obvious mission, many of us have had personal experiences to show that it is dramatically easier to get medical care than to get psychosocial support for those dealing with cancer. (Ask me about my first-hand experience the next time that you see me!)
The University's strategic plan, DU IMPACT 2025, urges us to listen to and collaborate with the communities we serve, and to use research to address society's most pressing issues. As you will see in this newsletter, COPE is committed to this vision. We have launched our specialty coursework, grown our clinical operation, and developed our research enterprise. While continuing these efforts, we are hoping to also impact public policy, and to address other systems issues that make it hard to receive the treatment that we can provide.
In February, we hosted the Honorable Patrick J. Kennedy to launch our Redefining Mental Health series, with COPE as our first featured program. (I had the opportunity to ask former Congressman Kennedy a few questions - watch a short clip to hear his thoughts on higher ed's role in the mental health care crisis.) We were so pleased to have the event sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, Citywide Banks, and UCHealth, as these partners are committed to addressing the psychological aspects of cancer treatment and survivorship.
The event was the largest GSPP has hosted, and participants were especially pleased to see COPE’s Founder, Diane Simard, discuss the ways that COPE is Redefining Mental Health. Diane has been featured in several recent publications, including the front cover of the Spring 2018 alumni magazine published by her alma mater, the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The photo of Diane and COPE’s Director, Nicole Taylor, captures the energy of these two amazing leaders. The program that they have created is reducing stigma and increasing access to services by training a highly qualified workforce that can address the special challenges that cancer poses. I am so pleased to see our community come together around this important topic!
Please enjoy reading about our progress, and know that we are gratefulfor your support and generosity. Thanks for your partnership in building this powerful community of health and healing!
Warmly,
Shelly Smith-Acuña, PhD Dean, Graduate School of Professional Psychology
State of COPE Message 2017-18
Dr. Nicole Taylor, Director
It has been an exciting year for COPE at GSPP! Our second full year of classes is drawing to a close this summer and we continue to serve many clients in the clinic. We have had over 40 students take at least one COPE class and currently we have 14 student-therapists in our clinic working with cancer patients and their family members. April was our best month yet at the clinic with 44 patient visits.
We continue to serve community members through our resources page on our website. If you have not yet taken a look, you can check it out here.
Some students who have been involved in COPE are completing their predoctoral internships this summer and will be graduating in August and another class of students will be leaving for their internships soon. You can read more about one of our dedicated students, Hannah Katz, in the profile below.
COPE Welcomes Kait Ross, Clinical Services and Outreach Coordinator Kait joined the COPE team June 1st! She is the former Administrative Director of the Professional Psychology Clinic and a current doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program at DU.
COPE Director and Students Facilitate Support Groups In April, a group of students joined Dr. Nicole Taylor in facilitating support groups at Denver's CURE Ocular Melanoma Conference, as well as the Blood and Marrow Transplant Information Network Symposium.
COPE received coverage in both television and print media again this year, including a feature in 5280 Magazine's health section: Healing the Whole Cancer Patient.
I presented my research on Preparing and Training Future Psycho-Oncologists: Lessons learned from Psychologists with Experience in the Field at the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) Conference in Tucson, Arizona in February. I also served as a member of the program planning committee, on a Meet the Experts panel, and will be chairing the 2019 APOS Conference which will be held in Atlanta in February 2019.
In addition to her new role at COPE, Kait Ross has been a part of a research team alongside Dr. Trisha Raque-Bodgan (Morgridge College of Education) and me. Kait also presented her work at APOS in February in a talk entitled Work-Related Challenges that Impact the Well-Being of Psychologists Working in Oncology.
We also want to thank our COPE supervisors Dr. Athena Baca-Chieza and Dr. Jana Bolduan Lomax. They have supervised cases through the Health Psychology seminar as well as small groups of students. Both have worked in numerous psychosocial oncology settings and have added their wisdom, compassion, and guidance to our students this year.
Thank you for your support of COPE and our students over the past year!
Nicole Taylor, PhD COPE Director
COPE Community Profiles
"They Said Yes!" Simard Scholar Gives Thanks for His Success
Garrett Warshay was honored as the Simard Scholar at the University of Denver's 2018 Named and Endowed Scholarship Dinner! The 2nd-year PsyD student credits key people who helped along the way. Listen to Warshay talk about who said "yes" to his dreams. Video >>
COPE Fellow Prepares for Next Step
Hannah Katz is set to begin her pre-doctoral internship at the University of Kansas Medical Center this summer. For the 4th-year PsyD student, helping cancer patients and their families is personal: she was an undergraduate at the University of Denver when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. More >>
On Cancer and Caregiving before COPE: A Conversation with Jeff Thompson, GSPP Board of Advisors
"Earth shattering." Jeff Thompson, Vice President of Government & Corporate Relations at UCHealth, minces no words when he describes the potential COPE has for changing the lives of cancer patients and their loved ones. Jeff discusses how a personal loss led him to become a passionate crusader against cancer, and what impresses him most about COPE. More >>
By the Numbers
90% of cancer patients say their plight has led to a life issue (job, finances, fatigue), yet resources to find specialized counseling services are limited.
Double:The amount the number of cancer survivors will grow by 2050, according to the American Cancer Society. We are training the next generation of practitioners to meet that demand.
7,000: The number of hours of assistance we estimate COPE students provided in its first year. The need for these services continues to grow.
The American Cancer Society reports one in threewomen will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime; for men, that figure is one of every two.
Continuing Our Work
We seek to continue the work of COPE in the community with two projects:
First, developing a partnership with local hospitals to allow students to work with cancer patients in places where limited psychosocial support is currently available. To do this, we need funding for supervisors to be on-site with students. There are so many clinics whose patients have unmet needs, and we hope to start to fill this gap in services in the near future.
Second, the Navajo Nation faces a need for providers to offer support to individuals living with cancer. We have partnered with a local non-profit organization, also coincidentally called the COPE program: "Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE) is a partnership with the Navajo Nation Community Health Representative Outreach Program to improve the lives of those living with chronic diseases in Navajo." We hope to send students later this year and we are looking for funding to support their travel and expenses while working on the Navajo Nation.
"Cancer didn't change me, but the process of overcoming cancer did." -Diane M. Simard, COPE Founder
Gifts to the Diane Simard Fund for the Center for Oncology Psychology Excellence may be used for program development, clinic expenses, faculty research, and student support. Together we are working to meet the mental health care needs of diverse and underserved populations in Denver and beyond—improving the lives of individuals, families, and communities.
Upcoming Events
There are many ways to stay connected to GSPP and the University of Denver. Learn about more opportunities on our website!
Certified Addiction Counseling (CAC II) Trainings will be held at DU throughout July (Pharmacology I, II; Principles of Addiction Treatment; Professional Ethics II; Motivational Interviewing; Infectious Diseases in Addiction Treatment; Group Counseling Skills)
Graduate School of Professional Psychology 2450 S.Vine St. Denver, CO 80208 303.871.3736 | www.du.edu/gspp
In 2018, the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of Denver is elevating its work and its vision of Redefining Mental Health in the Denver community and throughout Colorado by expanding our efforts to meet the social needs of the communities we serve. We invite you to join us as we work to normalize the mental health conversation in our diverse communities and cultures, and reduce barriers to seeking care and resources.Learn more: www.du.edu/gspp/rmh
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