Counseling Individuals With Life Threatening Illness, Second Edition

"With characteristic clarity, Doka draws on the classic and contemporary literature as well as his own pedagogy and practice in death and dying to offer orienting concepts for the whole spectrum of care people may require when illness intrudes into their lives. For each phase of the illness trajectory...he offers intelligent attention to the problems and prospects people confront, and in countless examples of actual clinical situations he brings to life the concepts that inform compassionate care."

From the Foreword by Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD

University of Memphis

This holistic, family-centered guide to counseling individuals with life-threatening illness considers not only the physical manifestations of the illness, but its psychological, social, economic, and spiritual implications. Revised and updated to reflect the most current research and enhanced theoretical development, this second edition encompasses new therapies that enhance meaning-making at life's end, and offers expanded sections on counseling families during the illness and as they grieve. One of the book's most significant changes involves the adaptation of a model of concurrent care. This model of care has great implications for end-of-life care, bridging the divide between treatment that is primarily palliative and treatment that seeks to cure or extend life.

Comprehensive and practical, the book discusses such social and psychological factors as gender, race, ethnicity, social class, education, and intelligence, and how they inform the experience of gravely ill people. The initial crisis of diagnosis is addressed along with unique considerations for those who live with chronic illness, those who are terminally ill, and those who recover.



New to This Edition:

Generational differences as a source of diversity
Expanded sections involving meaning-making strategies (dignity-enhancement therapy, living eulogies, reminiscence therapy, life review, meaning-centered therapy, moral/ethical issues, and heart wills)
Discussion of end-of-life phenomena and ways to assist patient and family in interpreting and responding to them
Enhanced coverage of caregiver issues
Expanded discussion of spirituality
Additional behavioral strategies to assist pain management
Anticipatory mourning
Post-death grief for family members
Chronic care and rehabilitation
Incorporates Rand Study on Concurrent Care and other new models