Dignity Therapy

Harvey Max Chochinov is a psychiatrist who has revolutionized how we maintain the dignity of people who are dying. In this book he explains in, great detail, the protocol for something he calls Dignity Therapy. The idea is based on the theory of generativity from psychologist Erik Ericson. The notion is that one of the needs that we have as human beings is to provide something to our progeny and future generations. Erikson felt that if a person was able to feel like they had done this, then that would add to their feelings of self actualization. Chochinov reasoned that for terminal patients, whose dignity is often stripped away by the loss of control in their lives, the feeling of leaving something meaningful behind would boost their sense of self actualization, worth, and dignity. He designed a protocol that allowed, even the weakest patients to participate in the writing of a generativity document. The resulting hard copy document is a message from the dying patient to their loved ones (really, anyone they want). In this book, the author describes the Dignity Therapy protocol, the empirical research that shows it to be highly effective, and some example interviews and resulting generativity documents. This book is very useful for both understanding and learning to perform Dignity Therapy. I like the many examples and the details that the author addresses to ensure complete comprehension is possible. This is a wonderful introduction to a fabulous therapy for the dying, by the inventor of the technique.