Life Stories of the Terminally Ill

Therapeutic and Anthropological Paradigms

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2499569
AutoresLaurie J Price (Northern Arizona University, autor de correspondencia), Laurie Price
Año1995
Volumen54
Número4
Páginas462-469
Fecha de publicación1995-12-01
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHuman Organization (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0018-7259 • E-ISSN: 1938-3517
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.17730/humo.54.4.yq62865664954568
OpenAlexW1980729432
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas14

Nurses and counselors at Hospice in North Carolina noticed that terminally ill clients often tell life stories to caregivers and family. Hospice wanted to sensitize staffmembers to recognize, respect, and respond effectively. I co-directed a project to videotape four Hospice clients reviewing their lives. Subsequently, we held a conference where academics and health care providers shared perspectives on life story. With story narration, the teller can symbolically transcend dependencies and isolation associated with terminal diagnosis. Hospice staff emphasized therapeutic aims in life review, believing that negotiation about life experience can help clients resolve problematic feelings. This article explores resolution of tensions between a therapeutic paradigm and an anthropological priority of maximizing storyteller autonomy. In addition, the analysis explores potential pitfalls of anthropological praxis in such projects. If life review becomes reimbursable, cultural and economic forces may reify and de

Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Palliative care · Sociology · Terminally ill · Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Identity, Memory, and Therapy · Medicine · Nursing · Philosophy · Psychology