Dying ─ A Transition

A critical success in Europe, this book offers a process-based, patient-centered approach to palliative care that substantiates an indication-oriented treatment and radical reconsideration of our transition to death. Drawing on decades of work with terminally ill cancer patients and a trove of research into near-death experiences, Monika Renz encourages practitioners to not only safeguard patients' dignity as they die but also take stock of their verbal, nonverbal, and metaphorical cues as they progress, helping to personalize treatment and realize a more peaceful death.

Renz divides dying into three parts: pre-transition, transition, and post-transition. As we die, all egoism and ego-centered perception fall away, bringing us to another state of consciousness, a different register of sensitivity, and an alternative dimension of spiritual connectedness. As patients pass through these stages, they offer nonverbal signals that indicate their gradual withdrawal from everyday consciousness. This transformation explains why emotional and spiritual issues become enhanced as we begin to die, yet seem to dissipate as we move further into the process. Fear and struggle shift to trust and peace; denial melts into acceptance. At first, family problems and the need for reconciliation are urgent, but gradually these concerns fade. By delineating these processes, Renz helps practitioners grow more cognizant of the changing emotions and symptoms of the patients under their care, enabling them to respond more personally and effectively and with the utmost respect for their patients' dignity.

Monika Renz is a practicing psychotherapist, music therapist, theologian, and spiritual caregiver and has been head of the psycho-oncology unit at St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital, Switzerland, since 1998. An international lecturer and the author of several books, her research focuses on dying, spirituality, and spiritual care and can be found at www.monikarenz.ch.