Psychosocial perspectives on end of life care

Personal and professional experience has made the author aware of the way in which emotional responses to vulnerability, life threatening illness, death and dying can significantly influence the course and outcome of medical and social interventions, as well as the provision and quality of care provided. In recent years psychoanalytic studies have enabled a deeper understanding of the unconscious primitive anxieties and associated defences that are part of being human, and to think about the implications for health and social care workers as society strives to meet the needs of an increasingly ageing population. Aspects of psychoanalytic theory, including contemporary applications, have been useful in reflecting on what it means to provide care for those at the end of life. The author will discuss the value of applying psychoanalytic understanding and faculties to this developing area of health and social care. Early findings from a doctoral research project, Bringing Death Home, will be referred to. The conclusion will reflect on personal knowledge and lived experience of palliative care social work to consider the significant contribution that relationship-based social work practice can make to the ongoing implementation of the end of life care strategy and the wider integrated care agenda.