Über den Tod sprechen

A helpful relationship of medical and therapeutic caregivers to patients who suffer from life-threatening illnesses is characterized by empathy, mutual openness and also the willingness to talk about death; however, talking about death often causes great difficulties for both sides, although this can be very helpful for overcoming the proximity of death associated with the illness. Some of the reasons for this are discussed based on considerations in developmental psychology, thoughts on special relationship dynamics in conversations which are concerned with the topics of mortality, transience and death and based on case examples. The potential for vitality, which becomes available when one succeeds in not avoiding this topic but becoming open to it, is also pointed out.