Counseling Individuals with Life-Threatening Illness

This is a holistic, family-centred guide to counselling individuals with serious illness and their families. It considers not only the physical manifestations of a life-threatening illness but also its psychological, social, economic, and spiritual implications. This second edition has been revised and updated to reflect the most current research and enhanced theoretical development. One of the book's most significant changes involves the adaptation of a model of concurrent care. This model of care has great implications for end-of-life care since it blurs the sharp divide between treatment that is primarily palliative and treatment that seeks to cure or extend life.

Comprehensive and practical, the book presents useful strategies for counsellors and health care professionals to use with gravely ill individuals in every stage of the life cycle. The book delineates specific tasks for patients to perform and describes issues that must be addressed by patients and their families. It also describes new therapies that have been developed to assist patients in gaining understanding, dignity, and acceptance during this final phase of their lives. Additionally, the book addresses pain management, anticipatory mourning, and caregiver stress and presents effective strategies, best practices, and resources for counsellors to use with individuals during each phase of their illness.

New to this edition:

Generational differences as a source of diversity
Expanded sections involving meaning-making strategies (dignity enhancement therapy, living eulogies, reminiscence therapy, life review, meaning-centred therapy, moral ethical, and heart wills)
Discussion of end-of-life phenomena and ways to assist patient and family in interpreting and responding to them
Enhanced coverage of caregiver issues
Expanded discussion of spirituality
Additional behavioural strategies to assist pain management
Anticipatory mourning
Post-death grief for family members
Chronic care and rehabilitation
Incorporates Rand Study on Concurrent Care and other new models