Grief and Bereavement in the Adult Palliative Care Setting

Adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies, in San Francisco, and faculty in the post-doctoral psychopharmacology program at Alliant University, in San Francisco; Fellow in Thanatology and clinical psychologist at the Mendocino Coast District Hospital, in Fort Bragg; Formerly assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and attending psychologist in the department of pain medicine and palliative care at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, and developed and directed a psychology fellowship in pain and palliative and hospice care.

• Chapter 1. Introduction ; Chapter 2. Relevance of Grief Theories for the Palliative Care Setting ; Chapter 3. Cultural, Spiritual, and Developmental Aspects of Grief Reactions ; Chapter 4. Grief Reactions in the Palliative Care Setting ; SECTION II: CLINICAL AND PROFESSIONAL CONSIDERATIONS ; Chapter 5. Assessment and Differential Diagnosis ; Chapter 6. Psycho-social and Psychological Interventions ; Chapter 7. Considerations on the Use of Medication for Grief Reactions ; Chapter 8. Grief Reactions in Palliative Care Clinicians

Grief and Bereavement in the Adult Palliative Care Setting provides practical, evidence-based, and clinically effective approaches to understanding the multifaceted nature of grief and bereavement in patients with advanced illness and their caregivers. This handbook is an ideal tool for palliative care providers of various disciplines who provide direct clinical services to patients and family members. It assists clinicians in recognizing and identifying grief reactions as unique expressions of patients and caregivers' history and psychological functioning. Primary care physicians who provide care to patients and families will also find this practical assessment and treatment guide helpful. They will learn how to best support bereaved patients and caregivers when grief is uncomplicated, and when to choose more active interventions that may include appropriate referrals to mental health professionals.