Counselling Skills in Palliative Care

This edition has been revised and updated to refl ect the current Government agenda on greater awareness and understanding of the issues surrounding communication and counselling in palliative care. The book has been written as a work-book with pauses for reflection, exercises, questions, answers and case studies, and its main aim is to help the reader with communication in palliative care. Issues covered include: What is loss? Needs and wants of both the dying person and the carer Sustaining hope Palliative care and holistic communications Counselling skills Removing barriers and monitoring interventions Endings Bereavement support Feelings and other manifestations of grief Funeral and moving forward The carer who can develop positive communication qualities especially those of empathy, genuineness and acceptance will fi nd that expressing them though counselling skills will deepen and enrich interactions with the dying person and their loved ones. Although is book describes and invites readers to practise counselling skills, it is as much concerned with relationship-building and with empowering the user with the skills needed in order to promote holistic care. This book will help not only those directly involved in the care of the dying person, but also anybody who will be affected by the death of a close or loved person.