Spiritual Care

Love for life is the guiding thread that animates Paola Argentino’s work—a thread that weaves together, in a harmonious and integrated way, a multitude of forms of knowledge and experiences related to caregiving. This book addresses the most painful aspects of human existence, particularly those that approach death following illness, and it proposes spiritual values in the care of terminally ill patients and in psychological support for their families.

Spirituality thus becomes united with medical science, each supporting the other, and both grounded in the ethos of care—including, though not limited to, the religious dimension. Drawing on the most recent research in neuroscience, while also incorporating insights from the past—such as Hippocratic medicine and ancient Greek wisdom—the author moves beyond the classic model of Kübler-Ross and the stages of grief and dying, advocating instead for an integrated and holistic conception of the human being, grounded in the Gestalt perspective. From the reading of these pages emerge, on one hand, a new and fruitful perspective on resilience, namely the innovative concept of creative adaptation as “allostatic intercorporeality,” and, on the other hand, a conception of health psychology centered on listening and empathetic sharing of others’ suffering—a compassion in response to a universal need for love, hope, and personal dignity that exists at any stage of life, including the final one.