Death Anxiety

Argues that death anxiety is neglected - in part, because of treatment failures due to countertransference interferences during treatment. Langs then discusses the technical issues connected with this, whilst introducing the controversial concept that mental activities are derived from immune system activities.

The institutions and the insights that make various therapies work are the crucial ingredients of what Irvin Yalom calls "existential psychotherapy". Here he distills the essence of a wide range of therapies and brings them into a masterful, creative synthesis, opening up a profound new way of understanding each person's confrontation with four ultimate concerns: isolation, meaninglessness, death and freedom. "An exceptionally enriching reading experience".--Jerome D. Frank. Notes and Index.

This book is a brief but comprehensive survey of research, writings, and professional practices concerned with death and dying. It is interdisciplinary and eclectic--medical, psychological, religious, philosophical, artistic, demographics, bereavement, and widowhood are all considered--but with an emphasis on psychological aspects. A variety of viewpoints and research findings on topics subsumed under "thanatology" receive thorough consideration. Questions, activities, and projects at the end of each chapter enhance reflection and personalize the material. This fourth edition features material on: * moral issues and court cases concerned with abortion and euthanasia; * the widespread problem of AIDS and other deadly diseases; * the tragedies occasioned by epidemics, starvation, and war; and * the resumption of capital punishment in many states. The book's enhanced multicultural tone reflects the increased economic, social, and physical interdependency among the nations of the world. Topics receiving increased attention in the fourth edition are: terror management; attitudes and practices concerning death; cross-cultural concepts of afterlife; gallows humor, out-of-body experiences; spiritualism; mass suicide; pet and romantic death; euthanasia; right to die; postbereavement depression; firearm deaths in children; children's understanding of death; child, adolescent, adult, and physician-assisted suicide; religious customs and death; confronting death; legal issues in death, dying and bereavement; death education; death music; creativity and death; longevity; broken heart phenomenon; beliefs in life after death; new definitions of death; children's acceptance of a parent's death; terminal illness; and the politics of death and dying.

A sensitively observed ethnographic account of the experience of terminal illness and care.

From one of the most celebrated and highly respected authorities in the field of psychotherapy comes a collection of his best works. In this anthology of Yalom's most influential work to date, readers experience the diversity of his writings, with pieces that range from the highly concrete and clinical to the abstract and theoretical.

This text employs a communication perspective to examine the aging process and the ability of individuals to adapt successfully to aging. It continues the groundbreaking work of the first edition, emphasizing a life-span approach toward understanding the social interaction that occurs during later life. The edition provides a comprehensive update on the existing and emerging research within communication and aging studies and considers such topics as notions of successful aging, positive and negative stereotypes toward older adults, and health communication issues. It raises awareness of the barriers facing elderly people in conversation and the importance such conversations have in elderly people's lives. The impact of nonrelational processes, such as hearing loss, are considered as they impact relationships with others and affect the ability to age successfully. The book is organized into 14 chapters. Each chapter is written so that the reader is presented with an exhaustive review of the pertinent and recent literature from the social sciences. As in the first edition, when the literature is empirically based, the communicative ramifications are then discussed. Readers of this volume will gain greater understanding of the importance of their communicative relationships and how significant they remain across the life span. Developed for students in communication, psychology, nursing, social gerontology, sociology, and related areas, Communication and Aging provides important insights on communication to all who are affected by the aging process.