Customer Reviews

Transitions in Dying and Bereavement: A Psychosocial Guide for Hospice and Palliative Care

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This book should really be considered the Hospice Bible, or at least one volume of it. I have never seen a book so clearly laid out, so encompassing of the psychospiritualsocial concerns and strengths for hospice patients and their families! Our hospice bought it after I fell in love with it. Now our social workers and I (grief specialist and death educator) are using it to train our interdiscplinary team on 1. sensitivity, 2. helpful interventions, 3. understanding family AND team dynamics, and 4. understanding the range of care and history that each patient brings with them (such as their previous experiences with the medical, social services, spiritual, and psychological/psychiatric communitites).

At a time when hospice is changing so radically (with so many for profit hospice and so many agencies "pretending to do hospice under the guise of home health" it is refreshing to see a group who has been able to embrace the totality of palliation and hospice in such a humanistic and holistic way!!!

Kudos to the staff at the Victoria Hospice Society. I hope you know how many other lives you changed as this book was published!!!!

This book is a great resource for anyone in hospice or palliative care. By following the structure of the Palliative Performance Scale, this book will guide you through the varied experiences of people who are dying and their loved ones. The authors do an excellent job of portraying the confusion and stress that surround many families from the point of diagnosis until the final phases of grief, while also giving professionals the information they need to provide comfort and reassurance in this difficult time.

Co-written by professional counseling staff members Moira Cairns, Marney Thompson, Wendy Wainwright and sanctioned by the Victoria Hospice Society, Transitions In Dying & Bereavement: A Psychosocial Guide For Hospice And Palliative Care walks the reader through the stages that chronically ill and dying individuals and their families must progress through, from diagnosis to death to bereavement. The most effective interventions for easing stress and confusion are clearly explained, along with sample dialogues that reveal the issues and challenges at each step. Chapters include notes on multicultural and interdenominational perspectives on death and dying, perspectives on body image, intimacy, and sexuality in the dying, ways to help alleviate feelings of anxiety, fear, burnout, denial, and powerlessness, ways to help in planning for death, and much more. A must-read for aspiring or practicing hospice counselors.

The prompt delivery was greatly appreciated. The book is a "gem" of a handbook for anyone physician, nurse , social worker, or caretaker involved with terminally ill patients.

good information on dying and transitioning into the process