Making sense: death, dying, and mental health

Death, dying and mental health may initially appear to share no conceptual ground, yet on examination their social consequences and means of making sense have much in common. Both require palliative rather than curative approaches, and both therefore have a need for a spiritual dimension to care. This chapter explores the concepts of death and dying with a view to introducing spirituality, then relating these to our social understanding and treatment of mental health distress. The spiritual transition model is introduced to posit the process individuals may go through when experiencing, making sense of, and adapting to mental health distress.