Worden’s involvement in professional organizations

This article explores J. William Worden's early involvement in the development of professional organizations in both psychology and thanatology. In psychology, this article describes Worden's involvement with the Omega Project (1968-1986) that helped to establish the field of psychosocial oncology and eventually in 1986 the establishment of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS). The article also notes how Worden contributed to the establishment in 1978 of Division 12 on clinical psychology of the American Psychological Association. In the field of thanatology, this article explains Worden's important role in the development of both the Forum for Death Education and Counseling (now the Association for Death Education and Counseling-ADEC) and the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement (IWG).