For some reason art therapy is often viewed with tolerant amusement but, in fact, it often has a really 'solid' contribution to make to the treatment and recovery of the mentally ill.

This study was designed to examine the effects of a healer seeing chronically ill patients in a large semirural practice. The 57 patients were allocated alternately either to receive ten weekly healing sessions or to become waiting-list controls. Two weeks after completion of 'healing' 22 (81%) of the 27 study patients thought their symptoms had improved and 15 of these thought they had improve...

52 Physician Assisted Suicide: An Exploration of the Dying Process Kunwar Kaur Abstract Up until about two decades ago, the practice of physician-assisted suicide was prohibited in the United States. However, the issues surrounding the legalization of physicianassisted suicide have long been the topic of debate as proponents seek to change public policy. Just as keenly, though, the opposition s...

BACKGROUND Although caregiving to patients with terminal illness is known to be a stressful burden to family members, little attention has been focused on work-related problems. We aimed to investigate employment status and work-related difficulties of family caregivers of terminal cancer patients, comparing with the general population. METHODS Using structured questionnaires, we assessed fam...

Direct physician-assisted dying, typically called physicianassisted suicide by opponents and aid in dying by proponents, is of increasing salience for at least two reasons: legal evolution and changing demographics. As of this writing, physician-assisted dying has been legal in Oregon for a decade. Known as Measure 16 at the ballot box, the Death with Dignity Act (ODDA, or, in Oregon, DWDA) pas...

In an increasingly 'patient-centred' health service individuals are demanding to make independent judgements about their own fate. In keeping with this trend there is now a growing drive to review the current laws on euthanasia and assisted suicide. The issues in the euthanasia debate usually revolve around patients who are terminally ill and/or suffering intractable pain. However, pain is not ...

McEvoy in his editorial is clearly not in favour of the proposed legislation to enable assisted dying for the terminally ill, mentally competent patient whose suffering is unbearable.1 Unfortunately, he, along with other prominent medical and political opponents, seeks to mislead your readers by repeatedly referring to euthanasia. This is where a doctor administers a life-ending medication as i...

The current paper presents a summary of a 12-year body of research on final conversations, which will be useful for healthcare providers who work with patients and family nearing the end-of-life, as well as for patients and their family members. Final conversations encompass any and all conversations that occur between individuals with a terminal diagnosis and their family members (all particip...