Editor's Note: "Information in this article will give the clinician an understanding of the stages of cognitive de velopment and the ways of utilizing this knowledge. It affords an explanation of what most good practitioners do as the result of intuition founded on experience."

Separation and loss issues arise frequently in pediatric hospital settings. Three forms of psychiatry/psychology liaison are presented which demonstrate: 1. case-centered collaboration to address child and family concerns about death; 2. team-centered activities which link family and staff roles in the course of terminal illness; and 3. the development of a program mechanism to meet the needs of staff "survivors" of recurrent childhood deaths. These examples illustrate the enrichment which pediatric psychiatry/psychology liaison program offer when the conceptual model of liaison service and teaching operates flexibly on case, team, and program levels.