Emotional and Spiritual Care
Hospice and palliative care teams are specifically trained to provide emotional and spiritual care for patients and their families including addressing their worries, anxiety and concerns and honoring religious practices.
Emotional Care
Many people with serious illness are concerned about the meaning of life and whether their lives are important. Social workers are trained to offer hospice and palliative emotional care support which include working with your loved one, listening to their stories and addressing their concerns. Emotional support is also available to caregivers and families as well.
Here are a few things that might help:
- writing down or recording your life story and thinking of all of your accomplishments and things you've enjoyed doing
- expressing yourself through art, music, story, or poetry.
Spiritual Care
In addition to emotional care, your loved one might also want to explore the importance of spiritualty in their life. For those with a serious illness, spiritual care can be very helpful. The hospice and palliative care support team can arrange and assist with religious rituals.
Integrative Therapy
The palliative team can assess what may be most beneficial for you. They are often connected with a network of caregivers and spiritual advisers and, if appropriate, can refer you to others who have more specific expertise that you may find beneficial.
Your care team can also recommend other care methods that are complementary to medication you may be receiving.
