ABSTRACT
Educational programs involving care of the dying and the bereaved should address the counselors'/caregivers' sense of their own mortality or personal death awareness, as well as issues related to existential anxiety. Knowing one's limitations will help the caregiver in learning to set boundaries, in knowing what one can do and what one cannot do, and in knowing when to refer or even ask for help. The Healing Process Model itself, with a few modifications, can be used as a guide to help caregivers with their own grief issues, particularly work related ones. Caregivers will need to de-brief and tell their story of grief and loss to understanding staff members if they are working in the hospital setting. Caregivers need to be familiar with what constitutes normal grief reactions and be able to recognize them not only in their clients and patients but also in themselves.
