30.3  Psychosocial and spiritual support

Psychosocial support is a fundamental part of palliative care, and includes a range of interventions that enable the person who needs palliative care, and their caregivers and families, to cope with the overwhelming feelings that result from their experiences with long-term disease and the threat of death. Providing psychosocial support may include supporting their self-esteem (self-respect or confidence in oneself), helping them to adapt to the illness and its consequences, and helping them to improve their communication with each other and with you, and their social functioning and their relationships.

Spiritual support involves taking into account not only the patient’s religious or faith beliefs and practices, but also their understanding of the purpose and meaning of life.

30.2.2  How to manage other common symptoms of HIV/AIDS

30.3.1  Support for the patient