Recognizing Spiritual Needs in People Who Are Dying
This book aims to clarify current thinking about the spirituality of terminally ill patients to ensure greater compassion and sensitivity in meeting their spiritual needs. Listening carefully to patients at the end of life is at the heart of good palliative care and this book provides a means of recognising and talking about spiritual needs even when religious language is not used. The author refers to this as a "language of spirit." The book is based on interviews with patients who are...
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This book aims to clarify current thinking about the spirituality of terminally ill patients to ensure greater compassion and sensitivity in meeting their spiritual needs. Listening carefully to patients at the end of life is at the heart of good palliative care and this book provides a means of recognising and talking about spiritual needs even when religious language is not used. The author refers to this as a "language of spirit." The book is based on interviews with patients who are dying and the language they use to describe their experiences. It deals with death, dying, the experiences of patients and the relief of spiritual pain by looking closely at patient stories, drawings and behavior.Aimed primarily at palliative care specialists and specialist nurses, this book will also appeal to social workers, health care chaplains, pastoral support workers, theologists and psychotherapists.
GlossaryIntroduction1Pt. 1Understanding spirituality: how far can story go?1How stories create and disclose meaning112Spirituality and psychology: stories with differing limits233Stories in the 'listening': collecting data314A story in the making: data analysis and interpretation55Pt. 2Spiritual concerns expressed in non-religious ways5Features of a 'language of spirit'61Pt. 3Nine metaphors waiting to be recognized - how spirituality is mediated in the here and now6Patients' sources of meaning and sense of self977Marginality and liminality: metaphors of the edge or the way?1158Metaphors of control1219Metaphors of letting go13310Archetypal hero14711Archetypal mother15912Archetypal stranger17313Recognizing life's 'surplus of meaning'209Pt. 4Implications for spiritual care14Some inconclusive reflections215References239Index251
