Research of meaning at the end of life: analysis of an experience of psychotherapy in hospice

070_Andrea Bovero_ITA

The full article is available for download in Italian only. DOWNLOAD PDF

Summary. The importance of spirituality in coping with terminal illness is becoming increasingly recognized. Among the medically and terminally ill in particular patients struggle with questions about  their mortality, the meaning and purpose of life. Aims of this work are to analyze the application of the adlerian psychotherapy in the palliative care context and in particular to study the use of the individual psychology model with advanced cancer patients recovered in hospice, focusing on existential concerns, spiritual needs and to find a meaning at the end of life. Results show the beneficial effect of the brief  adlerian psychodynamic psychotherapy in helping terminally ill patients to find a sense of meaning. There are key aspects of Adlerian therapy, as oneness of the concerned person, its teleological aspects, the emphasis on social responsibility, the need to come true in the human community, the strategy of encouragement and the sense of belonging that make it useful in the treatment of the dying patients. Finally this work highlights the ability to sustain a sense of meaning and inner peace particularly important among terminally ill individuals in order to maintain dignity and self-esteem in facing their waning physical abilities.