Give Sorrow Words

Though there has been much written about dying and bereavement in recent years, the particular stress of terminal illness in childhood - as it affects both the families and the professionals - is only beginning to be better understood. In this book Dorothy Judd, a child psychotherapist who has worked with ill, disabled and dying children and adolescents for many years, places her clinical experience in the context of a full understanding of death, the moral and ethical issues raised by some of the treatments for life-threatening illness, and the current research into new developments in approaches to terminal illness. At the heart of the book is a very moving diary of Judd's work with Robert, a seven-year-old suffering from leukaemia. Judd's account of therapeutic work in the hospital setting, away from the privacy of the consulting room, will be of special interest to mental health professionals. Give Sorrow Words combines great sensitivity to the experience of terminal illness with an astute awareness of the more theoretical debates in this increasingly important area of research.