Editorial to the Special Issue “Psychology and End‐of‐Life”

Australian psychologists' perceptions on their role in end‐of‐life care of older adults

“…Regardless of training and specialisation, there was a common view that EOL not only involved the assessment and treatment of mental health problems and pathological disorders but extended to a wider dimension of quality of life issues such as adjusting to early and late illness, death preparedness, and facilitating relationships with both formal and informal carers, deriving meaning in illness, supporting dignity and autonomy, and reducing fear of death. Stronger psychosocial perspectives of EOL care can enhance the quality of the dying experience (Breen & Ugalde, 2017) where needs and expectations (e.g., physical, social, psychological and existential) of patients, family members, and caregivers are holistically supported (Butow, 2017).…”

“…The contribution of psychologists in EOL care is also limited when compared to that of other health care professionals (Nydegger, 2008) with relatively few psychologists are represented in interdisciplinary palliative care teams in North America (Kasl‐Godley, King, & Quill, 2014). Breen and Ugalde (2017) concluded in a Special Issue of Australian Psychologist on EOL, “although some psychologists have made important contributions to the field, there is little evidence that the discipline of psychology as a whole has considered end‐of‐life issues to be an important area that deserves substantial professional time and attention” (p. 329). Limited clinical roles, education and training, research and policy roles of psychologists in ageing and at EOL were identified by the APA (2017) with similar conclusions by the EOL Care and Choices Roundtable, which concurred that psychologists should apply their skills and expertise to improve EOL care (Radermacher, Sampson, & Gridley, 2017).…”

“When I feel like I can make a difference, it’s amazing”: using IPA to explore primary school teachers’ experiences of children’s mental health in the United Kingdom

“…I 'work alongside' to support teachers as they support children's mental health needs, but feel teachers see me as 'outside' the school system. Some researchers see the insider/outsider dichotomy as over-simplistic, as all researchers are 'insiders' to a certain extent (Breen, 2007;Rowlings, 1999). I feel drawn to Breen's (2007) notion of 'researcher in the middle', as I occupy both insider and outsider positionings.…”

“…Some researchers see the insider/outsider dichotomy as over-simplistic, as all researchers are 'insiders' to a certain extent (Breen, 2007;Rowlings, 1999). I feel drawn to Breen's (2007) notion of 'researcher in the middle', as I occupy both insider and outsider positionings. Here, the insider/outsider dichotomy is seen as over-simplistic.…”