Psychosocial Program

Program overview

A childhood cancer diagnosis can be stressful for the whole family including your child, siblings, caregivers and other family members. The many changes ahead can be overwhelming, confusing and can lead to mental health struggles. This program provides a variety of supports and mental health resources for your family from the time of diagnosis including:

• Adolescent Medicine Physicians works with teen patients on issues specific to their needs including mental and social stresses, fertility and body image.
• Child Life Specialists play a unique part in your child’s care, helping them cope with stress and anxiety during their treatment through a creative blend of care/therapy including art, music and play-based activities 
• Expressive Art Therapists use a variety of creative arts as a form of therapy to allow patients to express themselves through painting, music and song.
• Interlink Community Nurses provide a valuable link between hospital, home life and community for you and your child including helping to build support systems to help your child be successful at school during their cancer treatment. 
• Psychiatrists support patients with clinically significant emotional distress and unrecognized or untreated psychosocial conditions related to their cancer journey.
• Psychologists ensure that every patient has access to customized and continued care that can help prevent lasting, long-term or late development of trauma and avoid other mental health challenges and crises.
• Resource Navigators provide support to SickKids patients and parents who need community information and help to apply for resources to address their health-care related costs, as well as other specific needs.
• Social Workers focus on helping meet emotional, social, financial, and practical needs that may arise throughout the cancer journey.  Social Workers develop unique programs to help your family cope through a cancer diagnosis.

Message from program leadership

"Our goal is to help ease the physical, emotional and psychological impact, as well as the burden of cancer our patients experience from the time of diagnosis to help them resume their normal growth and development. Our dedicated team aims to prevent and reduce the incidence of mental health issues and improve quality of life for the whole family."

– Dr. Sarah Alexander, Murphy Family Psychosocial Program Medical Director & Sonia Lucchetta, Social Worker, Garron Family Psychosocial Program Lead