How can a social worker help me?

Social workers offer non-medical support like emotional, financial, and practical help with day-to-day caring. They support both people who are receiving care and their loved ones. Palliative care social workers can start supporting you from the moment of diagnosis of a serious illness, while hospice social workers typically come into the picture towards the end of life.

Here are some ways they can help:

Provide emotional comfort

Social workers can provide emotional support, help you navigate your feelings and create a safe space to talk about your fears and worries. They are trained to offer counselling during difficult times, help with stressful family situations, facilitate difficult conversations, and help lower the stress of caregiving.

Coordinate care

They can help coordinate care between care team members, schedule appointments and provide information about available support services.

Access community resources

Social workers can help you find community resources and support services, like financial help, transportation, home care services, and meal deliveries.

Offer practical assistance

They offer help with practical matters like understanding insurance coverage, sorting legal issues, and managing paperwork.

Facilitate advance care planning

Social workers can assist in creating advanced care plans. They can facilitate conversations around end-of-life wishes, needs and values, and make sure that they are reflected in the advanced care plan.

Help with transitions

They offer support to better navigate transitions between care settings. They can share information about available options, help coordinate services, and make sure the it runs smoothly.

Support caregivers

They provide support, education, and resources to caregivers, helping them cope with the physical, emotional, and practical challenges they may face. They help caregivings find respite care options, caregiver support groups, and other support services.

Provide bereavement support

Social workers can provide counselling and resources to help cope with grief and loss after a loved one's passing.

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