How does this work?

Once you sign up you will receive a link to log into your resource center. You will find all kinds of helpful things there. You will set up a password and use that link whenever you want to access the resource center.

You will receive an email from Dr. Chiaramonte. She will send you an intake document for you to complete. If you have close family members who are also caregiving, they will complete one too. 

 You will schedule your first visit with Dr. Chiaramonte, which will happen via Zoom.

Is this the right program for me?

This program was created by Dr. Chiaramonte specifically for people who love or care for someone with a serious illness. She will address common issues that are faced by many families, including creating a medical team, communicating about difficult topics and managing the stress associated with caring for an ill loved one. When you work with Dr. Chiaramonte and create a Caregiver's Compass you will develop:

- Clarity about how to navigate the experience of a family illness

- Communication skills so you can feel connected to your loved ones even when you have to talk about tough topics

- The ability to find calm even in this stressful situation

- Care for you, in case you've been putting other people's wellbeing above your own

Will Dr. Chiaramonte give me medical advice for my loved one?

No. We assume that your loved one is seeing physicians and other healthcare providers who will be providing appropriate medical care. This program will give you information to help you navigate the experience of facing illness as a family, but it is not a substitute for a doctor-patient relationship. Dr. Chiaramonte doesn't have a doctor-patient relationship with you or your loved one, so she cannot (and will not) provide any medical advice.

Will Dr. Chiaramonte be my doctor?

No. This is an educational program that does not provide medical advice for your loved one or for you. Dr. Chiaramonte will be your coach, not your doctor, but we strongly recommend that you have a doctor who you can reach out to to support your own health and wellbeing.

When will we meet?

You will schedule appointments with Dr. Chiaramonte and they will be held over Zoom or (if you prefer) by phone.

Hi. I'm Dr. Chiaramonte. Welcome!

I am happy that you're here and I look forward to getting to know you.

I feel honored to have walked beside many patients and families as they faced serious or complex illness. Life is precious and facing illness or mortality can shake up the whole family. But it can also lead to deep personal meaning, improved relationships and restructuring life to get the most joy out of it that you can. 

I'm sure you wouldn't choose this challenging path that you're on, but now that you're on it I hope that you'll do all you can to make it as non-awful as possible.

Both of my daughters faced significant and complex medical conditions so I know what it feels like to be overwhelmed, frightened and unsure of where to turn. I am a doctor and I still felt that way!

I am deeply grateful to the patients who have allowed me to be a part of their lives. They enhanced my life at least as much as I enhanced theirs. 

In my career I have seen great personal meaning come from challenging experiences. But it is hard to find this meaning when you feel like you're hanging from the side of a cliff by your fingernails, just trying not to crash to the ground. I've been there. I get it.

When I was guiding my daughters during challenging times, the combination of information, practical tools, and radical self-care got me through the roughest parts and made me a better caregiver.

This experience deepened my desire to help other families who are facing tough medical situations.

I am now dedicating my time to teaching families how to navigate serious illness. I also teach physicians and other clinicians how to provide whole person care to families facing serious illness.

This is why I started the Integrative Palliative Institute and why I host The Integrative Palliative Podcast. Check it out - even though it is targeted to physicians you will find useful information there. 

Just in case you're wondering... 'palliative' means to relieve suffering. Palliative care is not the same as end of life care! Palliative care is appropriate at diagnosis of a serious illness - even if the family hoping for a cure. 

Palliative care addresses 3 'buckets' of things:

1) Symptom management - reducing pain, nausea, fatigue, depression, anxiety, etc.

2) Coping - managing stress or anticipatory grief.

3) Medical decision making - deciding about treatments, clinical trials, advance directives and more.

My speciality is integrative palliative care. I describe it as whole-person care for families facing serious illness, using all the tools that work.

If you work with me I will give you tools to make a hard situation a little easier. 

If you are interested in the recorded course and are able to pay the full fee, please do that so that I can continue to create new content to help more people. If you can't, please pay whatever you can. If you can't pay anything, please receive the course as a gift from me to help you on your journey.

If you want to work with me  one-on-one, I would be honored to help you reduce your overwhelm and improve your wellbeing. This wouldn't be medical care for you or your loved one, rather it would be teaching you powerful tools improve your ability to help your loved one while still caring for yourself.

Life can be hard, but it can also be sweet. 

Ideally we all walk beside each other and lift each other up when times are tough.

My goal as a human is to put good into the world and live authentically. What is yours?

I hope that I get to meet you soon.

- Dr. C

Delia Chiaramonte, MD