About this Event
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 | 3pm-4:30 PM Pacific
HYBRID — Attend virtually via Zoom or in person
In-Person Location:
Exodus Recovery, Inc. / CA-START San Diego
3870 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 150
San Diego, CA 92123
Cost: No cost
Continuing Education: 1.5 Continuing Education (CE) hours available for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs
CAMFT Approved Provider #1033067
Registration Required
To register for this CET, please complete the CA-START San Diego CET Registration Form here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/Q2XmAtkZgB?origin=lprLink
About This Training
What does it mean when a young person is not simply fatigued from cancer treatment, but increasingly tired of treatment itself?
For neurodivergent youth undergoing prolonged cancer treatment, the physical demands of illness and treatment may occur alongside pain, psychiatric symptoms, treatment-related trauma, changes in functioning, disruption of routine, and the developmental challenges of adolescence.
This 90-minute, case-based Community Education & Training (CET) examines cancer-related treatment fatigue in a neurodivergent adolescent and the medical, psychiatric, and psychosocial factors that may co-occur and compound one another over the course of treatment.
Using a de-identified San Diego START consultation case, participants will explore the distinction between physical fatigue associated with cancer and its treatment and the broader experience of becoming emotionally and psychologically exhausted by the ongoing demands of treatment.
The case highlights a young person experiencing prolonged chemotherapy, chronic pain, changes in mobility and functioning, possible treatment-related neuropathy, iatrogenic trauma, significant depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and increasing expressions of not wanting to continue treatment.
The discussion will also consider how treatment fatigue may intersect with loss of control, reduced autonomy, grief, anger, adolescence and developmental change, mortality, and the cumulative emotional burden of prolonged medical treatment.
Rather than attempting to determine whether these concerns are exclusively “medical,” “psychiatric,” “behavioral,” or related to autism, the training will examine how these needs may co-occur, accumulate, and influence one another.
The goal of this training is not to cover every aspect of autism and cancer care. Instead, the focus is on a specific clinical question:
How can we understand and support cancer-related treatment fatigue when serious medical needs, mental-health symptoms, and neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities are occurring at the same time?
Presenters
Wajdi Akef Fakhoury, LMFT #148333
Clinical Director, CA-START San Diego
Ingrid Dombrower, MD
Medical Director, CA-START San Diego | Psychiatrist
Elizabeth Keck
START Coordinator, CA-START San Diego
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Differentiate physical cancer-related fatigue from treatment fatigue, including the emotional and psychological exhaustion associated with prolonged cancer treatment.
- Identify medical and treatment-related factors that may contribute to treatment fatigue, including chemotherapy effects, chronic pain, neuropathy, mobility changes, Medic*tion effects, and iatrogenic trauma.
- Describe how neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities may influence the experience of prolonged cancer treatment, including differences related to communication, sensory processing, literal thinking, routine, and predictability.
- Recognize how treatment fatigue may co-occur with depressive symptoms, treatment refusal, suicidal thoughts, or self-harm behaviors while maintaining appropriate assessment of psychiatric and safety concerns.
- Examine psychosocial and developmental themes associated with serious illness and prolonged treatment, including grief, anger, reduced autonomy, adolescence, mortality, and perceptions of unfairness.
- Integrate medical, psychiatric, and neurodevelopmental factors into an interdisciplinary formulation when supporting a neurodivergent youth experiencing cancer-related treatment fatigue.
Continuing Education Information
1.5 Continuing Education (CE) hours are available for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs.
Course meets the qualifications for 1.5 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.
Exodus Recovery San Diego CA-START is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. Exodus Recovery San Diego CA-START maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content.
CAMFT Approved Provider #1033067
Requirements for CE Credit
Participants requesting continuing education credit must:
- Attend the full CE-eligible instructional portion of the training
- Complete the CE Evaluation and Certificate Request at end of training.
- Certificates will be issued after attendance and CE eligibility are verified.
No meals, breaks, or non-instructional activities are offered for continuing education credit.
Instructional Level
Introductory to Intermediate
Intended Audience
This training is intended for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, LEPs, psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, nurses, START staff, Regional Center and developmental-disability professionals, case managers, coordinators, behavior specialists, and other professionals supporting neurodivergent youth with co-occurring mental-health and medical needs.
Accommodations
Requests for accommodations may be directed to:
Please submit accommodation requests prior to the training whenever possible.
Grievances
Requests for the continuing education grievance policy or concerns regarding this course may be directed to:
Registration Required
To register for this CET, please complete the CA-START San Diego CET Registration Form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/Q2XmAtkZgB?origin=lprLink
Eventbrite is being used for public event information only. Official registration is completed through the registration form.
Event venue & nearby stays
3870 Murphy Canyon Rd suite 150, 3870 Murphy Canyon Road, San Diego, United States
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