Research suggests that parents of seriously ill children place significant value on the relational context of their children's health care. This psychological phenomenological study explored mothers' perspectives on qualities that they found to be either helpful or unhelpful to their experiences of caregiving. Relational and communicative competencies were identified as most influential in mothers' assessments of provider care. Practitioners experienced in end-of-life care were viewed as highly supportive by the mothers in the study. Training for professionals in principles of palliative and end-of-life care is recommended for those who work with these children and families.
The value of parent-to-parent support has been noted in research with parents of children who have a range of special needs and chronic medical conditions, however, less is known about the benefit of such mentorship for parents caring for seriously ill and dying children. Findings from a qualitative study with mothers of seriously ill children, including those whose children had died, provided rich and detailed information about the personal and practical resources they received from other parents. Personal recommendations to parents by parents included the value of seeking out mentorship and appreciating the small things in life, while practical suggestions encompassed encouraging parents to become informed and to advocate for their children's best interests. Mothers also identified professionals with end-of-life training as instrumental agents of support.
Bearing witness to grief is about accepting and experiencing suffering as an unavoidable aspect of loss. It also entails listening to and responding with clients in a way that affirms that their experiences have been heard and understood. This article describes a model for therapeutic engagement and intervention with grieving clients. The model is informed by contemporary grief and practice theories characterized by such qualities as emotional presence, reciprocity, responsiveness, empathic expression, and meaning making. Case examples from the author's research and practice experience illustrate how these qualities contribute to what she describes as translational relationships that lead to transformations in clients' self perceptions and assumptive worlds, and for some, to revived meaningfulness in a life changed by loss.
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