"Psychosocial Issues in Palliative Care is for anyone working the field of palliative care, both in the community and in hospitals; this includes those in medicine, nursing, social work, chaplaincy, counseling, primary care, and mental health."--Jacket.

Written by a Macmillan lecturer, this comprehansive handbook demonstrates the application of theory to good practice, offering practical guidance to anyone involved with the care of dying people and their families.

One of the most challenging roles of the psycho-oncologist is to help guide terminally-ill patients through the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the dying process. Patients with cancer, AIDS, and other life-threatening illnesses are at increased risk for the development of major psychiatric complications, and have an enormous burden of both physical and psychological symptoms. This title guides the psycho-oncologist through the most salient aspects of effective psychiatric care of patients with advanced illnesses.

Preceded by Transitions in dying and bereavement: a psychosocial guide for hospice and palliative care / by Victoria Hospice Society and Moira Cairns, Marney Thompson, Wendy Wainwright. c2003.

Caring for terminally ill patients and their families is challenging. Patients with life limiting illness require the skills of many professionals but also the support of their community. While most clinicians are comfortable in assessing a broad range of physical problems, it is often the psychosocial issues that prove the most complex. These issues range from psychosocial assessment to the treatment and care of patients with life limiting illnesses. Evaluating emotional, social and spiritual needs, in particular, requires excellent teamwork. This fully-updated and expanded new edition takes a comprehensive look at current practice and provision of psychosocial support as applied to a range of palliative care patients. A number of important areas are covered including community approaches of psychosocial care, neonatal palliative care, the provision of psychosocial care to families, the role of volunteers in supporting palliative care professionals, and the needs of the frail elderly, marginalised patients, and those with dementia. Including multiple case study examples, this highly practical text examines current literature and evidence to demonstrate the best research-based practice in psychosocial care. It is an essential resource for professionals working within hospitals and communities in the fields of medicine, nursing, social work, chaplaincy, counselling, primary care, and mental health.

"Palliative Psychology: Clinical Perspectives on an Emerging Specialty is the first book that proposes palliative psychology as a new specialty defining the roles and competencies of psychologists working in the palliative care setting in the US context. As proposed and defined in this book, palliative psychology is a specialty for licensed psychologists interested in providing psychological assessment and interventions to patients with serious and advanced illness and their family caregivers. The psychologist's involvement can begin after a diagnosis of serious illness and continue during treatment, transition of care, during the dying process, and in bereavement. This book follows the framework developed by the Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, which identifies eight domains of specialist palliative care. The chapters of the book explore each of the domains, describing some of the essential knowledge, skills, and attitudes that palliative psychologists should develop to become competent palliative care professionals. Tables and clinical case vignettes are used throughout the book to illustrate important clinical aspects related to the work of palliative psychologists"--Publisher's description.

"From its origins, with leaders such as Dame Cicely Saunders, Eric Wilkes, Colin Murray and James in the United Kingdom, Balfour Mount in Canada, Vittorio in Italy, and Elizabeth Ross and Avery Weisman in the United States, hospice and palliative care has always embraced the "whole" person, in the context of their family. From her observations of people with advanced and progressive illness, Dame Cicely Saunders introduced the concept of "total pain." Pain had physical, emotional, social, and spiritual components, all of which needed to be addressed. Of course, excellent control of pain and other symptoms is vital, but the role of the palliative care team, including the physicians, is much more than this. It also extends beyond expertise in the management of physical and psychiatric symptoms. Effective symptom control may be necessary before other goals of hospice and palliative care can be achieved. But equally, failure to address emotional, social, or spiritual components of symptoms may lead to inadequate symptom control. Physicians can and should contribute to this holistic assessment and care. This is why palliative medicine is a rewarding field for physicians-there is much opportunity to practice comprehensive whole person care"--