In this deeply personal and powerful episode, Dr. Delia Chiaramonte shares her experience of traumatic loss of both her father and her father-in-law. 

Traumatic grief is not just about missing someone—it’s about having your sense of the world torn apart. It can show up in surprising ways: emotional numbness, panic, guilt, dissociation, and even physical symptoms. In this episode, you’ll learn how traumatic grief differs from more typical grief, and what helps people begin to heal.

You’ll also hear:

• Surprising aspects of traumatic grief that many people don’t talk about
• Evidence-supported tools to support healing after traumatic loss
• The importance of the body in trauma recovery

Whether you’re grieving a traumatic loss or supporting someone who is, this episode offers a space for truth, tenderness, and the possibility of healing.

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (24/7 free support)
• Therapies that may help: EMDR, Somatic Experiencing, trauma-informed grief therapy
• Mind-body tools for trauma: grounding, breathwork, guided imagery, gentle movement

Connect With Dr. Delia:

• Website: www.integrativepalliative.com
• LinkedIn: Delia Chiaramonte, MD

If This Episode Helped You…

• Please leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
• Share it with someone in your life who would benefit from hearing it
• Subscribe for more heart-centered episodes about serious illness, caregiving, and the healing journey

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Not having access to Medical Aid in Dying can drastically increase suffering for dying people and their families.

This week I'll share a deeply personal and painful story about a dying man who wanted to have control over his death and what why he had to face it alone.

Helping healers heal others and themselves.

Delia

Delia Chiaramonte, MD

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

It's been an interesting experience for me to experience the loss of my dad and both feel my own grief and also observe it with the lens of a palliative care physician.

I have noticed how healing it has been for me when others bear witness to my pain and also when they bear witness to my dad as a person.

This is how we can best support people who are grieving after someone they love has died: bear witness to the pain or bear witness to the person.

Helping healers heal others and themselves.

Delia

Delia Chiaramonte, MD

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Grief isn't only an issue after a person dies. Anticipatory grief shows up long before a person has passed away. Families facing dementia, ALS, cancer, renal failure, and other serious illnesses can experience anticipatory grief long before the very end of life.

This week we take a look at anticipatory grief from the inside because my family is facing it right now.

This episode is for you if you are a clinician who cares for the ill and aging or if you are a person who has an ill or aging person in your life.

Share this episode with someone in your life who needs it.

I'm glad you're here.

Delia Chiaramonte, MD

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Everyone should have an advanced directive. Full stop. You, your parents, your partner, your adult kids - everyone.

Most people know that having an advance directive is important but they feel awkward or anxious about actually making it happen.

I've seen patients with stroke have a terrible outcome from a poorly done advance directive. And I've seen family members of people with cancer suffer because their loved one didn't have an advance directive even though their illness was very severe.

In this episode you will learn all that you need to know to create a high quality advance directive for you and your family.

I'm glad you're here,

Delia

P.S. Don't forget to subscribe to The Integrative Palliative Podcast on your favorite podcast platform

Delia Chiaramonte, MD

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

What have you been avoiding? Is there a courageous conversation you should be having? A boundary you should be setting? A household task that needs to be completed?

I wrote Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself about a year ago and I never recorded the audio book! I meant to. I wanted to. But I just never made it happen - until this week!

Why do we put off things that we truly want to do? I explore this topic in this week's episode and give you steps to finally accomplish what you've been putting off.

What have you been putting off?

Dr. Delia
Delia Chiaramonte, MD
www.integrativepalliative.com
www.coping courageously.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Dr. Janet Abrahm is a Fellow of the American Academy of Physicians, Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a former practicing oncologist, and an internationally recognized expert in supportive and palliative care for patients with cancer. She has over 20 years of experience in the forefront of palliative care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is the author of the newly updated Comprehensive Guide to Supportive and Palliative Care for Patients with Cancer as well as an award-winning clinician and educator in palliative care. 

This week she joins me to talk about the latest updates in palliative care. We chat about palliative precedes, the treatment of cancer related fatigue, new thinking about cancer cachexia and more.

You can learn more about Dr. Abrahm and her work at janetabrahm.com.

Here's to healing the heart of the healers,

Dr. Delia
Delia Chiaramonte, MD
www.integrativepalliative.com 

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Physicians are expert learners, yet many have the feeling that they can't be entrepreneurs. This week, Nneka Unachukwu, MD (affectionately known as "Dr. Una") will convince you that you can learn the skills to become a physician entrepreneur or a physician "intrapreneur" and create the life that you want.

If you have a tiny voice inside that dreams of starting a business or advancing in your employed position, you'll want to listen to this episode. Creating the life you want reduces burnout and supports your journey to wellbeing.

You can find Dr. Una's podcast, books, and online business school at www.entremd.com.

Supporting healing for the healers,
Dr. Delia
Delia Chiaramonte, MD
www.integrativepalliative.com/clinicians

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

Talking about advance directives, goals of care, and end-or-life wishes can be scary. Even if the conversation doesn't scare you, finding the right time and the right way to bring it up can be a challenge.

This week I share my own recent experience of having a goals of care conversation with a loved one, and give practical guidance for how to get started with your own courageous conversations.

Let's talk about it!
Dr. Delia
Delia Chiaramonte, MD
www.integrativepalliative.com

#palliativecare 

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/

In this episode, Katie Joy Duke (@katiejoyduke) shares her wisdom as a woman and life coach who experienced treatment for stage IV breast cancer. She shares the tough parts and the growth parts, including her decision to pursue an aesthetic flat closure rather than breast reconstruction.

She is open and engaging and wise. I know you'll love learning from her.

You can find information about her coaching practice, book, and speaking at www.katiejoyduke.com.

I'm glad you're here!
Dr. Delia
Delia Chiaramonte, MD
www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself is available here: www.copingcourageously.com

A free guide for physicians to help reclaim your joy at work and in life https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/pl/2148540010

Please review this podcast wherever you listen and forward your favorite episode to a friend! And be sure to subscribe!

Sign up to stay connected and learn about upcoming programs:
https://trainings.integrativepalliative.com/IPI-stay-in-touch

I'm thrilled to be listed in Feedspot's top 15 palliative podcasts!
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/