Illness Beliefs: The Heart of Healing in Families and Individuals

Illness Beliefs: The Heart of Healing in Families and Individuals (Revised 3rd Edition)

Illness beliefs have a profound influence on a person's illness experience and their relationships with other family members and healthcare providers. Serious illness and loss often invite suffering in individuals and families that is not adequately addressed by healthcare professionals.

The internationally acclaimed Illness Beliefs Model is the focal point of this book and offers specific family interventions that are effective for softening suffering. Rich in clinical exemplars, Illness Beliefs: The Heart of Healing in Families and Individuals takes the reader inside the therapeutic conversation between the healthcare provider and family members to show the model in action-a model of healing that has been developed from over 40 years of clinical practice to soften suffering by enabling families, individuals, and clinicians to examine and challenge their own illness beliefs that may be impeding health and healing. Illness Beliefs is primarily written for clinicians, including nurses, physicians, social workers, psychologists, and medical family therapists but may also be helpful for family members experiencing serious illness or loss.

Lorraine M. Wright, RN, PhD is an international speaker, author/blogger and consultant in family nursing and family therapy. She is also Professor Emeritus of Nursing, University of Calgary. Dr. Wright's clinical scholarship includes illness beliefs of

families and healthcare professionals; illness suffering and spirituality; and family interventions that soften suffering and enhance healing. Dr. Wright has published and spoken widely at family nursing, family therapy, spirituality and health, oncology, and palliative care conferences and workshops at both hospitals and universities. When not lecturing and

traveling internationally, she resides in Calgary, Canada.

Janice M. Bell, RN, PhD is an Associate Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary. The difference she wants to make in the world is for families to be included in healthcare. Her clinical scholarship includes therapeutic conversations with families, family interventions in healthcare, and family intervention research. Dr. Bell is the Editor of the Journal of Family Nursing

(SAGE Publications) and a Founding Member of the International Family Nursing Association. She offers workshops and consultations about practice knowledge with families to an international community of healthcare providers.