International Journal of Palliative Nursing 2009 (Vol. 15 No. 10) Contents

Fade Fave: Using play therapy in paediatric palliative care: listening to the story and caring for the body

Fade Skinny: Palliative care for children must address more than pain control and symptom management. Parents and caregivers of dying children find the transition to palliative care particularly difficult and nurses who understand the parents’ perspective  can better support them. Nurses can offer to support the parents by listening to and reflecting the child’s hopes and fears expressed through play, thus facilitating the development of positive family relationships and healing during the dying process.