Whole Person Care

This book argues persuasively and passionately that patient care is best when the patient’s healing journey is as good as it can possibly be. That means the patient as a Whole Person – the self in all its physiological, emotional, social and even spiritual dimensions – should receive truly comprehensive patient-centered care. In Whole Person Care: Transforming Healthcare, the author, an expert in whole person care theory and practice, outlines the background of whole person care, explains and illustrates the key ideas, puts the growing movement of whole person care in the context of other recent developments in healthcare, and explores the implications of whole person care for individual practitioners, healthcare teams, and the organization of healthcare at the institutional and systems level. In addition, the author provides a compelling, coherent narrative, rich with clinical examples and vignettes, that clarifies for physicians, medical students and healthcare administrators the meaning of whole person care and its implications for the future of medical practice. An invaluable resource for all clinicians and personnel concerned with managing patients with acute and chronic illness, Whole Person Care: Transforming Healthcare is a major addition to the literature and a must-read for health practitioners and health administrators at every level.

A ground-breaking new volume and the first of its kind to concisely outline and explicate the emerging field of whole person care process, Whole Person Care: A New Paradigm for the 21st Century organizes the disparate strains of literature on the topic. It does so by clarifying the concept of 'whole person' and also by outlining the challenges and opportunities that death anxiety poses to the practice of whole person care. Whole person care seeks to study, understand and promote the role of health care in relieving suffering and promoting healing in acute and chronic illness as a complement to the disease focus of biomedicine. The focus is on the whole person -- physical, emotional, social, and spiritual. Using concise, easy-to-read language, the early chapters offer practitioners a thorough understanding of the concepts, skills and tools necessary for the practice of whole person care from a clinician-patient interaction standpoint, while the last two chapters review the myriad implications of whole person care for medical practice. An invaluable resource for all areas of medical practice and for practitioners at all stages of development, from medical students to physicians and allied health providers with many years of experience, Whole Person Care: A New Paradigm for the 21st Century will have a profound impact on western medical practice in North America and elsewhere.

This book builds on the person-centred medicine movement to promote a shift in the philosophy of care of distress. It discusses the vital importance of whole person health, healing and growth. Developing a new transdisciplinary concept of sense of safety, this book argues that the whole person needs to be understood within their context and relationships and explores the appraisal and coping systems that are part of health. Using clinical vignettes to illustrate her argument, Lynch draws on an understanding of attachment, and trauma-informed approaches to life story and counsels against an over-reliance on symptom-based fragmentation of body and mind. Integrating literature from social determinants of health, psychology, psychotherapy, education and the social sciences with new research from the fields of immunology, endocrinology and neurology, this broad-ranging book is relevant to all those with an interest in person-centred healthcare, including academics and practitioners from medicine, nursing, mental health and public health.

Integrated Care for the Traumatized puts forth a model for the future of behavioral health focused on health care integration and the importance of the Whole Person Approach (WPA) in guiding the integration.

This edited collection is the first complete guide for rehabilitation professionals seeking to engage a whole-person, biopsychosocial, and mind-body medicine integrated approach to care. Drawing on the foundations of integrative medicine, Integrative Rehabilitation Practice (IRP) goes beyond the treatment of symptoms to explore multiple levels, roots, and possible contributing factors to individual's health experience. IRP acknowledges the complex inseparability of biological, behavioral, psychosocial, spiritual, and environmental influences. The book covers both the theoretical foundations of IRP and applications to practice in the fields of physical therapy, occupational therapy, yoga therapy, speech and language therapy, and many other professions. Featuring contributions from Matthew J. Taylor, Marlysa Sullivan, Andra DeVoght and other professionals, case studies, storytelling, and reflective exercises, this cross-disciplinary clinical training guide is essential reading for all rehabilitation professionals, as well as others interested in advancing whole-person care.

This is the first practical guide for nurses on how to incorporate the knowledge, skills, and tools of Strength-Based Nursing Care (SBC) into everyday practice. The text, based on a model developed by the McGill University Nursing Program, signifies a paradigm shift from a deficit-based model to one that focuses on individual, family, and community strengths as a cornerstone of effective nursing care. The book develops the theoretical foundations underlying SBC, promotes the acquisition of fundamental skills needed for SBC practice, and offers specific strategies, techniques, and tools for identifying strengths and harnessing them to facilitate healing and health. The testimony of 46 nurses demonstrates how SBC can be effectively used in multiple settings across the lifespan.

Nursing involves caring for the whole person, and taking care of both physical and psychosocial needs. This book aims to help the reader to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to care for the whole person and to ensure the patient is at the centre of the care-giving experience. The book considers different aspects of therapeutic nursing care and explains how you can make the most of opportunities to nurse the whole person. Key topics covered include: Understanding the personal experience of illness Communication and listening skills Developing nurse–patient relationships Psychosocial assessment skills Using psychotherapeutic approaches Since it is common for those who are physically ill to feel psychologically vulnerable, the book also has chapters exploring how to care for patients who are anxious, depressed, psychotic or display challenging behaviours. All chapters include case studies and personal stories of illness to help illustrate the range of practice opportunities for improving your nursing care of the whole person. An essential read for all nurses looking to hone their craft and for those preparing to qualify who want a deeper understanding of the true art of nursing.