Kat Hurley LCSW, APHSW-C holds a Bachelor of Science in Theater and Dance from Skidmore College and a Masters of Social Work with a concentration in Hospice and Palliative Care from Fordham University.

Kat came to a career in clinical social work after 17 years as a professional dancer. After choosing to delve into a different career path, Kat decided to volunteer at a local hospice. That decision changed her life. Working as a family support volunteer at Regional Hospice and Palliative Care in Danbury CT ignited in her a passion for palliative and end of life social work. She also worked with their sister organization, Healing Hearts Center for Grief and Loss as a facilitator for adult and adolescent bereavement groups. In addition she volunteered as a counselor at Good Grief Camp, a camp for children who have experienced significant loss. As a result of these experiences she attended Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service, where she was offered an advanced year Palliative Care Fellowship.

Following graduation, Kat pursued a post masters fellowship in palliative care at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY. She has obtained advanced training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Beck Institute), Yoga and Mindfulness for Cancer Patients (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center) CALM Psychotherapy training (Princess Margaret Cancer Center) Grief and Loss Externalization Therapy Training (Tucson Medical Center) Anxiety Therapy (PESI) CBT at the Bedside for Anxiety, Insomnia and Depression (City of Hope) and EMDR for Healthcare Workers (Robbie Adler-Tapia, PhD-the Steve Frankel Group). During her fellowship, Kat was able to initiate a Dignity Therapy Clinic in the outpatient oncology unit at Montefiore as well as at the Center for the Aging Brain. Kat's passion for grief and bereavement work have her constantly on the lookout for tools to assist grievers in processing their losses which is what brought her to The Grief Recovery Method. Kat appreciates the idea that GRM focuses in a targeted way on grief in a time limited format that doesn't require that clients come and "sit on my couch week after week for years and still don't feel better."

Kat is building a private therapy practice in Madison CT and New York City, NY focusing on grief, loss and bereavement and healthcare worker burnout prevention. She is the pediatric palliative care social worker for the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital at New York Presbyterian in New York City. Kat has served as a faculty preceptor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Columbia University School of Medicine for 1st, through 4th year medical students for topics such as breaking bad news, interdisciplinary communication, Ready4Residency, De-escalating highly emotional interactions, bioethics and precepted the Objective Structured Clinical Exams. Kat has guest lectured on grief, loss, palliative care social work and improvisation for health care professionals at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Service. Kat has presented on Grief and Loss, Children's Grief, Palliative Care and Hospice, Meaning Making from Loss, Boundaries and Trauma Stewardship at numerous interdisciplinary team meetings at New York Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center, UPC/staff inservices, Grand Rounds, the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network National Conference (SWHPN), as well as the International Association of Social Work With Groups (IASWG). Kat was invited to author a chapter on De escalating highly emotional encounters for the second edition of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Care Social Work which is scheduled for publication in late 2021/early 2022.