When a child is terminally ill, parents agonize over how to tell the child about their prognosis, and how to decide when to stop treatment when a cure is no longer possible. Their anguish is fueled by a range of ethical, emotional and spiritual dilemmas, and there is never an easy or an obvious answer.

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Steinhorn, an academic pediatrician who practices intensive care and hospice medicine for children.  He led the Judith Nan Joy Integrative Medicine Research Initiative at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago from 2002-2010 and founded palliative care programs at major children’s hospitals.  He is currently developing children’s hospice programs in Washington, DC and San Diego, California.  Dr. Steinhorn has additional training in energy medicine, yoga, meditation, and shamanism, studying with teachers from the Foundation for Shamanic Studies, the Four Winds Society, and Dr. Carl Greer, and has brought shamanic healing approaches to his critical care practice in children’s hospitals across the country.   

LINKS:

To learn more about Dr. Steinhorn's work, click HERE.

Watch Dr. Steinhorn and his collaborator Jana Din demonstrate their transpersonal medicine approach  in this nationally broadcast television segment titled "Shamans in the ICU." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBQ7QKmHwAY