Counselling on Death and Dying

The growing concern for improved quality of care for the dying and the bereaved is reviewed. The growth of the hospice movement, home-care teams and self-help groups are referred to, together with the attempts that have been made to evaluate the effectiveness of bereavement counselling. In the light of current work and formal psychological studies, an outline of the grief process is given. Reference is made to possible future developments in this field and to the importance of counselling skills being acquired by a wider range of people than at present.