Arlen Gaines, PhD, MSW, LCSW-C, APHSW-C, has been caring for individuals with serious illness and at the end of life for almost 20 years.

After years as a hospice social worker, she transitioned into leadership, focusing on leading psychosocial teams and elevating collaborative practice in hospice and palliative care. She developed a specialization in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities in their grief and speaks nationally on this subject.

She co-authored the award-winning “I Have a Question About …” series, which addresses complex topics for children, including those with developmental disabilities.

As the first social worker in the inaugural doctoral program in Palliative Care at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, she completed her dissertation research on the grief and bereavement experiences of children with intellectual disabilities.