This text brings together contemporary thinking on loss and bereavement. It draws on international research, practice and individual stories from people struggling to understand the meaning of loss including work with bereaved children, parents, familiesand adults.

"For anyone seeking to develop their understanding of loss and change, whether in a palliative care of general or social care setting, this book contains much useful material which can be taken selectively or in its entirety." Hospise Information Bulletin How do professionals meet the needs of bereaved people? How do professionals undertake best practice with individuals, groups, families and communities? What are the implications for employing research to influence practice? This book provides a resource for working with a complex range of loss situations and includes chapters on childhood bereavement, and individual and family responses to loss and change. It contains the most up-to-date work in the field presented by experienced practitioners and researchers and is relevant not only for those working in specialist palliative care settings, but for professionals in general health and social care sectors. Strong links are maintained between research and good practice throughout the book. These are reinforced by the coherent integration of international research material and the latest thinking about loss and bereavement. Experts and clinicians draw upon their knowledge and practice, whilst the essential perspective of the service user is central to this book. Loss, Change and Bereavement in Palliative Care provides essential reading for a range of professional health and social care disciplines practising at postgraduate or post-registration/qualification level. It challenges readers, at an advanced level, on issues of loss, change and bereavement. Contributors Lesley Adshead, Jenny Altschuler, Peter Beresford, Grace Christ, Suzy Croft, Pam Firth, Shirley Firth, Richard Harding, Felicity Hearn, Jennie Lester, Gill Luff, Linda Machin, Jan McLaren, David Oliviere, Ann Quinn, Phyllis Silverman, Jean Walker, Karen Wilman.

This book in Palliative Care is an evidence-based handbook which helps palliative care clinicians identify risk factors and contributing variables to the development of pathological grief reactions, implement treatment plans that can adequately minimize the impact of risk factors, and provide professional and specific support to patients and families.

The loss of a loved one is one of the most painful experiences that most of us will ever have to face in our lives. This book recognises that there is no single solution to the problems of bereavement but that an understanding of grief can help the bereaved to realise that they are not alone in their experience. Long recognised as the most authoritative work of its kind, this new edition has been revised and extended to take into account recent research findings on both sides of the Atlantic. Parkes and Prigerson include additional information about the different circumstances of bereavement including traumatic losses, disasters, and complicated grief, as well as providing details on how social, religious, and cultural influences determine how we grieve. Bereavement provides guidance on preparing for the loss of a loved one, and coping after they have gone. It also discusses how to identify the minority in whom bereavement may lead to impairment of physical and/or mental health and how to ensure they get the help they need. This classic text will continue to be of value to the bereaved themselves, as well as the professionals and friends who seek to help and understand them.

`This second edition, which has also been edited by Samson Katz, utilizes around half of the original text, of which a significant portions has been revised and updated. The remainder comprises new material reflecting both the changes in attitudes generally towards death and dying, and also designed to meet the needs of students undertaking the revised curriculum of the K260. This book will stimulate thinking and challenge the personal views of both academics and those in practice. ...[A] valuable tool for both those new to the area of palliative and cancer care and those experienced professionals searching for a new angle on several key topics in relation to ethical issues occurring in this speciality... [A]n excellent balance of theoretical contents and moving prose... [T]his book is directed towards all professionals working in health and social care. ...This book is a must for pre-registration students wishing to gain greater understanding of the psychosocial issues faced by those with a terminal illness and their significant others' - Nurse Education Today The fully revised and updated edition of this bestselling collection combines academic research with professional and personal reflections. Death, Dying and Bereavement addresses both the practical and the more metaphysical aspects of death. Topics such as new methods of pain relief, guidelines for breaking bad news, and current attitudes to euthanasia are considered, while the mystery of death and its wider implications are also explored. A highly distinctive interdisciplinary approach is adopted, including perspectives from literature, theology, sociology and psychology. There are wide-ranging contributions from those who come into professional contact with death and bereavement - doctors, nurses, social workers and councellors. In addition there are more intimate personal accounts from carers and from bereaved people. Death, Dying and Bereavement is the Course Reader for The Open University course Death and Dying, which is offered as part of The Open University Dilpoma in Health and Social Welfare. Praise for the First Edition: `The book does give a broad overview of many of the issues around death, dying and bereavement. It raises the reader's awareness and encourages deeper investigation at every level. It is easy to reda and therefore accessible to a wide audience' - Changes `Provides a richly woven tapestry of personal, professional and literary accounts of death, dying and bereavement' - Health Psychology Update `Offers a unique collection of fascinating information, research, stories, poems and personal reflections. It is unusual to experience such a diversity of writings in one book' - Nursing Times `It brings together the knowledge and skills from a multi-occupational group and thereby offers and opportunity, to whoever reads it, to enable better experiences for those who are dying and bereaved' - Journal of Interprofessional Care `For those trying to help the dying and bereaved, this volume will inspire and move you as much as it will inform and guide your work' - Bereavement Care `Provides a unique overview, and in many areas, penetrating insights into various aspects of death, dying and bereavement. One of it's major strengths is that it brings together a wide and varied discourse on death across cultures and through time' - British Journal of Sociology

Praise for the First Edition: "[This book] represents a significant advance because it looks at the issues from a bio-psychosocial perspective. To a social worker who has worked mainly in a medical and nursing environment, this is a great step forward." --Bereavement Care "[Offers] valued sensitivities, knowledge, and insights, and most importantly, age-appropriate interventions for a range of significant losses....Counselors will want to keep this indispensable work close at hand." -Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, Author, Counseling Individuals With Life-Threatening Illness This unique text for undergraduate and masterís level social work and counseling courses on loss, grief, and bereavement is distinguished by its biopsychosocial perspective and developmental framework. The book addresses grieving patterns and intervention strategies according to the life trajectory and provides clinical intervention tools and strategies for coping according to the developmental stage of an individual. It incorporates losses beyond death loss, with special focus on losses related to maturational development. The second edition reflects new research that has clarified and underscored the value of theories examined in the first editionóparticularly in the areas of continued bonds, disenfranchised grief, and ambiguous grief. It describes how grieving is influenced by biological responses to stress, psychological responses to loss, and social norms and support networks. The second edition includes significant new information on trauma and resilience and addresses the use of mindfulness practices with grief and loss. It focuses on the changing role of technology including expressions of grief and loss in social media and public forums. Updated information is provided regarding hospice and palliative care, , along with housing issues in aging. A completely new chapter examines grief and loss counseling with emerging adults, and changes in the DSM 5 are covered as well. Additional new features include chapter objectives, discussion questions, an instructorís manual, PowerPoint slides, and updated resources. New to the Second Edition: New information on trauma and resilience Using mindfulness practices with grief and loss Updated theory and empirical findings The changing role of technology in grief Expressions of grief and loss in social media and public forums Transitions due to economic and health changes Changes in the DSM 5 New chapter on emerging adults (ages 18-25) Instructorís manual and PowerPoint slides New information on hospice, palliative care and aging Housing issues in aging/disability New information on issues facing young and older US veterans and families Updated resources Chapter objectives and discussion questions Key Features: Uses a developmental framework for grief and loss Incorporates notions of loss beyond death, including unique maturational losses Integrates new grief theories with empirical findings and intervention techniques Utilizes neurobiological and biological information within a counseling text Focuses on non-pathologizing approaches to sadness, loss, and grief

This book encourages health professionals to reconceptualise their practice in the light of the fact that their patients are deteriorating and dying, supporting them in their dichotomous role which involves affirming that person's life whilst acknowledging that that life is ending. Professionals are encouraged to think laterally, to be creative in their use of their core skills, and to use their life skills and experience to change the focus of their interventions. By making these changes, those involved with caring for the dying will be able to address issues related to burnout and feeling de-skilled. The authors share their considerable experience with the reader - what works for both patient and carer/professional when working in this field. By providing workable solutions, they empower those in disempowering situations, such as when working with terminally ill children and adults. The book is truly holistic and client-centred in its approach, upholding the philosophy of palliative care. Aimed at all who interact with children and adults who have a life-limiting condition or who are dying Offers practical examples of approaches to dilemmas and emotional issues commonly face by those working in palliative care Encourages professionals to think laterally, to be creative in their use of core skills, and to use their life skills and experience to change the focus of their interventions Moves the emphasis away from the medical model to the emotional and spiritual influences on quality of life Offers clear, workable guidelines and demonstrates practical solutions, based on proven theory and experience, to problems encountered on a day-to-day basis by patients and those coming into contact with them

As this book shows us, when a loved one dies we search for meaning in our own lives while struggling to hold onto memories of a precious life lost, O says Senator John Breaux in his introduction to this book. The 29 chapters of this book address the struggles, concerns and issues faced by the bereaved, and those who care for them.

Maintaining dignity for patients approaching death is a core principle of palliative care. Dignity therapy, a psychological intervention developed by Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov and his internationally lauded research group, has been designed specifically to address many of the psychological, existential, and spiritual challenges that patients and their families face as they grapple with the reality of life drawing to a close. In the first book to lay out the blueprint for this unique and meaningful intervention, Chochinov addresses one of the most important dimensions of being human. Being alive means being vulnerable and mortal; he argues that dignity therapy offers a way to preserve meaning and hope for patients approaching death. With history and foundations of dignity in care, and step by step guidance for readers interested in implementing the program, this volume illuminates how dignity therapy can change end-of-life experience for those about to die - and for those who will grieve their passing.

Based on practice knowledge of the authors rather than on research, this book may be particularly useful for those professionals who have not had hands-on experience with people at the last stages of dying. It is a resource that can be referred to time and again by those who care for people facing the final stage of life.