Roles
- Professor of Public Health Sciences
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Biography
Wendy G. Lichtenthal, PhD, FT, FAPOS is Director of the Center for the Advancement of Bereavement Care at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Professor, Pending Rank, in the Department of Public Health Sciences, Division of Prevention Science and Community Health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, which she joined in 2023. She is a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked as a grief specialist for over 20 years. In 2005, she began her career at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in New York City, where she was Founding Director of the Bereavement Clinic and Associate Attending Psychologist, and where she now serves as Consultant Faculty. She was a recipient of the 2012 International Psycho-Oncology Society Kawano New Investigator Award, the 2019 Association for Death Education and Counseling Research Recognition Award, and the 2023 American Psychosocial Oncology Society Outstanding Clinical Care Award. She is a Fellow in Thanatology and was elected a Fellow of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society in 2024. Her federally funded research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Nursing Research, American Cancer Society, T.J. Martell Foundation, and MSK’s Cycle for Survival and has focused on grief and bereavement, cancer survivorship, intervention development and evaluation, and finding meaning in the face of adversity. She is an inventor of the Meaning-Centered Grief Therapy and EMPOWER intervention manuals that are used in her research. -
Education & Training
Education
Post Graduate Training
Licensures and Certifications
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Honors & Awards
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Research Interests
My research has concentrated on the development and evaluation of novel psychosocial interventions for cancer patients and their families, with a focus on bereavement and cancer survivorship. I am also interested in developing efficient and ethical evidence-based models of transitional, preventive psychosocial care to help bereaved family members and post-treatment cancer survivors transition from resource-limited hospital-based care to the community through, for example, screening and workforce/lay support training initiatives. -
Publications
Disclaimer: Information presented in this section has been consolidated using AI and machine learning technologies. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, errors may occur. If you identify any inaccuracies, use this link to inform our data team. Your feedback is appreciated and helps us improve the quality of our content.Professional Activities
Articles & News
Sylvester Researchers, Collaborators Call for Greater Investment in Bereavement Care
Cancer Symposium Focuses on Patient Support, Cancer Research
Disclaimer:
Information presented in this section has been consolidated using AI and machine learning technologies. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, errors may occur. If you identify any inaccuracies, use this link to inform our data team. Your feedback is appreciated and helps us improve the quality of our content.
Clinical Trials
Viewing 0 of 3 clinical trials.
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This study will utilize a randomized, controlled, repeated measures design to investigate the efficacy of MCP-C vs. SP-C in improving sense of meaning in life and spiritual well-being (primary outcomes) and anxiety, depression, benefit-finding, caregiver burden, social support, and pre- and post-loss grief (secondary outcomes) in distressed caregivers of patients with Stage III/IV solid tumor cancers. Participants will be 200 caregivers recruited from MSK and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (SCCC) at University of Miami. All participants will be randomized 1:1 into MCP-C or SP-C. Outcome assessments will occur at baseline, at the completion of the seventh session of MCP-C or SP-C, and at 6- and 12-months follow up.Aim 1: Evaluate the efficacy of MCP-C versus SP-C in improving primary (i.e., sense of meaning in life, spiritual well-being) and secondary (i.e., anxiety, depression, benefit finding, caregiver burden, social support) outcomes immediately post-treatment and explore maintenance in gains up to 1 year.Aim 2: Evaluate the role of sense of meaning in life as a mediator of key secondary outcomes.
- Principal Investigator: Wendy Lichtenthal
- Study Phase: N/A
- Enrollment Status: Open
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The purpose of this study is to compare three types of support programs for parents who have lost a child. We will see how these support programs affect participants grief and depression symptoms. The three support programs are called Meaning-Centered Grief Therapy, Supportive Counseling, and Enhanced Usual Care.
- Principal Investigator: Wendy Lichtenthal
- Study Phase: N/A
- Enrollment Status: Not Accepting
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The purpose of this study is to evaluate a new, time-limited informal caregiver intervention that is called EMPOWER -- Enhancing & Mobilizing the POtential for Wellness & Emotional Resilience in Surrogate Decision-Makers of ICU Patients. We hope EMPOWER will help informal caregivers with the stresses and strains of caring for a close friend or family member in the ICU.
- Principal Investigator: Wendy Lichtenthal
- Study Phase: N/A
- Enrollment Status: Not Accepting