Grief Interventions in Palliative Care

Abstract Family members of patients receiving palliative care for life-limiting illness face grief both before and after the patient’s death. While many will adapt, others will develop mental health challenges that may benefit from psychosocial intervention to support them in their grief. This chapter provides an overview of grief interventions in palliative care, with a focus on intervention for family members (i.e., those individuals who are close to the patient). Interventions can be delivered before the patient dies to address pre-death grief and reduce risk for negative bereavement outcomes, immediately following the patient’s death to support continuity of care, and in the long term to treat bereavement-related mental disorders. Additional information is provided on supporting palliative care clinicians who are impacted by the multiple patient losses that inherently come with their work. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research on grief interventions in palliative care.