Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
David W. Kissane, MD is an academic psychiatrist, psycho-oncology researcher and author. He is currently the Head of Psychiatry for Monash University in Australia, recently the Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York and previously the Foundation Chair of Palliative Medicine at the University of Melbourne.
His academic interests include group, couples and family psychotherapy trials, communication skills training, studies of existential distress, and the ethics of end-of-life care. He developed a cognitive-existential model of group therapy for women with early stage breast cancer, which ameliorated fear of recurrence, and his trial of supportive-expressive group therapy for advanced breast cancer showed the prevention of depression alongside improved quality of life. He is best known for his model of family therapy delivered to andlsquo;at risk' families during palliative care, which prevents complicated grief and depression in bereavement. His work on demoralization as a variation of depression in the medically ill has preceded interventions to promote meaning-based coping.
At MSKCC, Prof Kissane established a Communication Skills Training and Research Laboratory, which developed an applied curriculum for oncology, training over 700 clinicians. His books include the Handbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care with Oxford University Press, Handbook of Psychotherapy in Cancer Care with Wiley-Blackwell, Cancer and Depression for the World Psychiatric Association and Family Focused Grief Therapy with Open University Press. Prof. Kissane was awarded the Jimmie C. Holland Chair in Psycho-oncology at MSKCC and was recognized by the International Psycho-Oncology Society in 2008 with their Arthur Sutherland Award for lifetime achievement.
Clinical activities
2003-2012
Attending Psychiatrist, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Memorial Hospital, New York, NY
Liaison attachments with Breast, Head and Neck and Gynecologic Disease Management Teams. Outpatient clinics twice weekly. Inpatient consultation and Psychiatry Fellow Supervision once weekly.
1998 - 2003
Development of a Psycho-oncology Service at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia; 10% effort. Conduct of weekly outpatient and inpatient consultation-liaison service to the oncology unit and hospice inpatients.
1996 - 2003
Monthly supervision of psycho-social services at Melbourne Citymission and Eastern Palliative Care, community-based programs.
1996 - 2003
Provision of a consultation-liaison service to Caritas Christi Hospice at its Kew and Fitzroy Campuses
1996 - 2003
Weekly supervision of Senior Registrar training in Psychiatry, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute.
Research area keywords
- psycho-oncology
- palliative care
- psychotherapy trials
- family/couples/group therapy
Network
Recent external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.
Projects
Development of a diagnostic interview to assess psychological adjustment and demoralisation in advanced cancer patients in palliative care
Bobevski, I., Kissane, D., Burke, A. & Michael, N.
Project: Research
Increasing service capacity to address patient needs through innovative shared care models: A pilot model for cancer-related depression
Kissane, D., Poon, P., Richardson, G. E., Wong, Z. & Sherwell, S.
1/09/18 → 31/08/19
Project: Other
Refinement and Re-validation of the demoralisation scale.
Kissane, D., Clarke, D., Fischer, J. & Franco, M.
Calvary Health Care Bethlehem, Monash University – Internal University Contribution, Monash Health
1/01/13 → 31/12/13
Project: Research
Communication skills training for oncology health care professionals working with culturally and linguistically diverse patients
Kissane, D., Butow, P. N., Girgis, A., Hale, S., Meiser, B., Aranda, S. K., Goldstein, D., Perry, A. & Sargeant, C.
Australian Research Council (ARC)
1/07/12 → 30/06/15
Project: Research
Research Output
"an indelible mark" the response to participation in euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide among doctors: A review of research findings
Kelly, B., Handley, T., Kissane, D., Vamos, M. & Attia, J., 1 Feb 2020, In : Palliative and Supportive Care. 18, 1, p. 82-88 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
1
Citation
(Scopus)
Risk indicators for depression in aged care: The contribution of a meaningful life, mastery and environmental fit
Chau, R., Kissane, D. W. & Davison, T. E., 23 Apr 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : Australasian Journal on Ageing. 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Validation of the Brazilian version of the Shame and Stigma Scale (SSS-Br) for patients with head and neck cancers
Pirola, W. E., Paiva, B. S. R., De Oliveira, C. Z., Lucchetti, G., Lucchetti, A. L. G., Kissane, D. & Paiva, C. E., 1 Apr 2020, In : Palliative and Supportive Care. 18, 2, p. 186-192 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
1
Citation
(Scopus)
An open trial of meaning-centered grief therapy: Rationale and preliminary evaluation
Lichtenthal, W. G., Catarozoli, C., Masterson, M., Slivjak, E., Schofield, E., Roberts, K. E., Neimeyer, R. A., Wiener, L., Prigerson, H. G., Kissane, D. W., Li, Y. & Breitbart, W., 1 Feb 2019, In : Palliative and Supportive Care. 17, 1, p. 2-12 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access
File
8
Citations
(Scopus)
Communication in cancer: its impact on the experience of cancer care: communicating with the angry patient and the patient in denial
Pene, C. T. H. & Kissane, D., 1 Mar 2019, In : Current Opinion in Supportive and Palliative Care. 13, 1, p. 46-52 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
2
Citations
(Scopus)