David Kissane

{{Short description|Australian psychiatrist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox scientist | honorific_prefix = | name = David Kissane | honorific_suffix = AC | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = David Kissane Photo.png | image_size = | image_upright = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = David William Kissane | birth_date = | birth_place = Melbourne, Australia | death_date =  | death_place = | death_cause = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates =  | home_town = | other_names = | siglum = | pronounce = | citizenship = | fields = Psychiatry<br> psycho-oncology | workplaces = Monash University <br> University of Notre Dame Australia | patrons = | education = University of Melbourne <br> Monash University | alma_mater = | thesis_title =  | thesis_url =  | thesis_year =  | doctoral_advisor =  | academic_advisors = | doctoral_students = | notable_students = | known_for = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | author_abbrev_bot = | author_abbrev_zoo = | spouse =  | partner =  | children = | signature =  | signature_alt = | website =  | footnotes = }}

'''David William Kissane''', AC (born 1951<ref name=":0" />) is an Australian academic psychiatrist, palliative care physician, and psycho-oncology researcher. He is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Monash University and Professor Emeritus of Palliative Medicine at the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=2018-06-22|title=David Kissane to head new research unit|url=https://www.notredame.edu.au/news-items/past/2019/david-kissane-to-head-new-research-unit|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-10-15|website=University of Notre Dame Australia|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2020-08-25|title=Professor David Kissane AC|url=https://www.notredame.edu.au/about/schools/sydney/medicine/school-staff/david-kissane|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201017104329/https://www.notredame.edu.au/about/schools/sydney/medicine/school-staff/david-kissane |archive-date=2020-10-17 |access-date=2020-10-15|website=University of Notre Dame Australia|language=en}}</ref>

He is known for his research on demoralization, existential distress, family and group psychotherapy in cancer care, and communication skills in oncology and palliative medicine.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hondros|first=Nathan|date=2019-09-15|title=Philip Nitschke: WA dying laws will have to change for people like David Goodall|url=https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/philip-nitschke-wa-dying-laws-will-have-to-change-for-people-like-david-goodall-20190913-p52r0p.html|access-date=2020-10-16|website=WAtoday|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-05-22|title=Federal grant for Sydney palliative experts|url=https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/federal-grant-for-sydney-palliative-experts/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530031653/https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/federal-grant-for-sydney-palliative-experts/ |archive-date=2020-05-30 |access-date=2021-01-14|website=The Catholic Weekly|language=en-AU}}</ref>

== Early life and education == Kissane was born in Melbourne, Australia, and schooled at Parade College. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS) from the University of Melbourne in 1974, followed by a Master of Psychological Medicine (MPM) from Monash University in 1991 and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) from the University of Melbourne in 1995.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=David Kissane|url=https://www.oldparadians.com.au/hall-of-fame/professor-david-kissane-ac|website=Old Paradians|access-date=2025-11-29|language=en}}</ref>

He trained initially in general practice (FRACGP, DObstRCOG), before specializing in psychiatry with his residency (FRANZCP) at St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and completing his consultation-liaison psychiatry fellowship (FACLP) at Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Averted euthanasia case a “beacon of hope”|url=https://catholicweekly.com.au/averted-euthanasia-case-a-beacon-of-hope-says-sydney-researcher/|website=The Catholic Weekly|date=2024-11-14|access-date=2025-11-29|language=en-AU|first=Marilyn|last=Rodrigues}}</ref>

== Academic and Clinical Career == Kissane began his academic career at Monash University and the University of Melbourne, where he rose through teaching and research appointments in psychiatry and psychological medicine.<ref name=":0" /> In 1996, he became the Foundation Professor and Director of Palliative Medicine at the University of Melbourne, establishing the Centre for Palliative Care and Australia’s first Master of Palliative Medicine degree program.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=Prof David Kissane receives 2022 Doug Lording Research Award|url=https://www.cabrini.com.au/lording-award/|website=Cabrini|access-date=2025-11-29|language=en}}</ref>

From 2003 to 2012, he served as Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York,<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=New Chairman of Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Appointed at Memorial Sloan-Kettering {{!}} Newswise|url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/new-chairman-of-department-of-psychiatry-and-behavioral-sciences-appointed-at-memorial-sloan-kettering|website=www.newswise.com|access-date=2025-11-29|language=en}}</ref> and Professor of Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Faculty Appointments and Promotions - August 16, 2004|url=https://news.weill.cornell.edu/news/2004/08/faculty-appointments-and-promotions-19|website=WCM Newsroom|access-date=2025-11-29|language=en}}</ref> During this period, he expanded MSKCC’s psycho-oncology service into one of the largest programs of its kind, founding six research laboratories and the influential ''Comskil Communication Skills Training Laboratory''.<ref name=":0" />

In 2012, Kissane returned to Australia to become Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Monash University, a role he held until 2019. He later joined the University of Notre Dame Australia as Chair of Palliative Medicine Research and was appointed Professor Emeritus of Palliative Medicine upon his retirement in 2024.<ref name=":3" />

Kissane continues to practice as a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatrist with the Melbourne Oncology Group at Cabrini Health.<ref name=":3" />

== Research == Kissane is best known for defining Demoralization as a clinical syndrome distinct from depression, characterized by poor coping, hopelessness, helplessness, and loss of meaning. His Demoralization Scale (2004) and its revision DS-II (2016) have been translated into over 25 languages and widely used in psycho-oncology and research of the medically ill.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=A Systematic Review of the Demoralization Syndrome in Individuals With Progressive Disease and Cancer: A Decade of Research|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885392414004072|journal=Journal of Pain and Symptom Management|date=2015-03-01|issn=0885-3924|pages=595–610|volume=49|issue=3|doi=10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2014.07.008|first=Sophie|last=Robinson|first2=David W.|last2=Kissane|first3=Joanne|last3=Brooker|first4=Susan|last4=Burney}}</ref>

In 2024, the World Health Organization formally recognized Demoralization (ICD-11 code MB22.2) as a psychiatric diagnosis, marking the culmination of Kissane’s 25 years of work in this field.

Kissane pioneered Family-Focused Grief Therapy (FFGT), a preventive model for families at risk of complicated grief, tested in multiple randomized controlled trials<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Family focused grief therapy: a randomized, controlled trial in palliative care and bereavement|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16816226|journal=The American Journal of Psychiatry|date=2006|issn=0002-953X|pmid=16816226|pages=1208–1218|volume=163|issue=7|doi=10.1176/ajp.2006.163.7.1208|first=David W.|last=Kissane|first2=Maria|last2=McKenzie|first3=Sidney|last3=Bloch|first4=Chaya|last4=Moskowitz|first5=Dean P.|last5=McKenzie|first6=Imogen|last6=O'Neill}}</ref> and summarized in his books Family-Focused Grief Therapy (2002)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Family focused grief therapy: a model of family-centered care during palliative care and bereavement|publisher=Open University Press|date=2002|location=Buckingham; Philadelphia, Pa|isbn=978-0-335-20350-5|series=Facing death|first=David W.|last=Kissane|first2=Sidney|last2=Bloch}}</ref> and ''Bereavement Care for Families'' (2014).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Bereavement care for families|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group|date=2014|location=New York|isbn=978-0-415-63737-4|series=The Series in death, dying, and bereavement|editor-first=David W.|editor-last=Kissane}}</ref>

He also developed Cognitive-Existential Group Therapy (CEGT) for early-stage breast cancer patients, demonstrating improved quality of life and reduced fear of recurrence, and led Australia’s replication of Supportive-Expressive Group Therapy (SEGT) for advanced cancer, ultimately providing the Australian evidence for the benefits of group therapy in cancer care.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Cognitive-existential group therapy for patients with primary breast cancer--techniques and themes|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9126713|journal=Psycho-Oncology|date=March 1997|issn=1057-9249|pmid=9126713|pages=25–33|volume=6|issue=1|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1099-1611(199703)6:1<25::AID-PON240>3.0.CO;2-N|first=D. W.|last=Kissane|first2=S.|last2=Bloch|first3=P.|last3=Miach|first4=G. C.|last4=Smith|first5=A.|last5=Seddon|first6=N.|last6=Keks}}</ref>

At MSKCC, Kissane led the creation of the Comskil Laboratory for clinician communication skills training, culminating in the ''Oxford Textbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care'' (2017, 2026). He has also published influential work on the ethics of end-of-life care and existential suffering.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Oxford Textbook of Communication in Oncology and Palliative Care|url=https://academic.oup.com/book/31733|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=2017|isbn=978-0-19-873613-4|volume=1|doi=10.1093/med/9780198736134.001.0001|language=en|editor-first=David W.|editor-last=Kissane|editor-first2=Barry D.|editor-last2=Bultz|editor-first3=Phyllis N.|editor-last3=Butow|editor-first4=Carma L.|editor-last4=Bylund|editor-first5=Simon|editor-last5=Noble|editor-first6=Susie|editor-last6=Wilkinson}}</ref>

His editorship with Professor Maggie Watson of the ''Handbook of Psychotherapy in Cancer Care (2011, 2026)'' integrates the maturation of these psychological interventions.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Handbook of psychotherapy in cancer care|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|date=2011|location=Chichester, West Sussex, UK|isbn=978-0-470-66003-4|first=David W.|last=Kissane|first2=M.|last2=Watson}}</ref>

=== Honors and Awards === Kissane served as President of the International Psycho-Oncology Society (2000-2003), Chair of the Fifth World Congress of Psycho-Oncology (2000), and was awarded their Sutherland Award for Lifetime Achievement (2008).<ref name=":0" />

Kissane has also served as the Chairman of the Faculty of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (2001-2003).<ref name=":0" />

At MSKCC, he was awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Chair of Research (2004-2008) and the inaugural Jimmie C. Holland Chair in Psychiatric Oncology (2008-2012). In 2012, he received the Klerman Award for Psychotherapy Research from Weill Cornell Medical College in recognition of his scholarship in the development of new models for patient care in medicine and psycho-oncology.<ref>{{Cite web|title=International Psycho-Oncology Society – Award Winners|url=https://www.ipos-society.org/awards/winners|access-date=2020-10-16|website=www.ipos-society.org}}</ref>

In Australia, he received the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) Australian Psycho-Oncology Award (2017). Kissane was made Companion of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AC, 2018) for eminent service to psychiatry, particularly psycho-oncology and palliative medicine, as an educator, researcher, author and clinician, and through executive roles with a range of national and international professional medical bodies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=AUSTRALIAN HONOURS SEARCH FACILITY: Professor David William Kissane|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2000675|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126185304/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2000675|archive-date=2018-01-26|access-date=|website=Australian Government: Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet}}</ref>

Kissane has been honored as a Plenary Lecturer at various international conferences and universities, including Sandra Goldberg Visiting Professor in Ethics and Palliative Care for McGill University (2004),<ref name=":4" /> Nina and Jerzy Einhorn Memorial Lecture at the 2005 Annual Congress of the Swedish Society for Medicine, Stockholm, Hong Kong University (2008, 2017), Taiwan Hospice Foundation (2008), University of Ferrara, Italy (2010),<ref name=":2" /> HAMAD Hospital Corporation, Qatar (2010, 2014), Brazilian National Oncology Conference (2011), University of Milan Family Therapy Training (2013), Roskilde University, Denmark (2013), University of California, San Francisco (2014), Dame Cecily Saunders Memorial Lecture for Kings College, London (2017), and numerous lectures at the European Palliative Care Association, American Psycho-Oncology Society and the International Psych-Oncology Society.<ref name=":1" />

=== References === {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kissane, William}} Category:1951 births Category:Australian psychiatrists Category:Companions of the Order of Australia Category:Living people Category:University of Notre Dame Australia people Category:Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Category:Academic staff of Monash University Category:Weill Medical College of Cornell University faculty Category:Knights of Malta