Ninth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Most clinical approaches to dreams and hallucinations in palliative care, whether they are religious or not, tend to be rather rudimentary and reductionistic in scope, due largely to a heavy reliance upon a biomedical model of care rooted in symptomology compounded by a sense of time constraint both with regard to professional demands and a patient’s willingness or ability to explore meaning with limited time left to live. Using 3 case studies in which “religious” dreams and hallucinations are explored as part and parcel of a holistic care plan aimed to provide psycho-spiritual depth to end of life care, both for those dying and the palliative care practitioners alongside them.