ABSTRACT
In Bowlby's theory of attachment behaviour an important component is the notion that the biological function of the child's first tie to its mother is protection from danger. Bowlby distinguishes this autonomy from the 'detachment' which occurs when a child has been deserted or left for a long period in an unfamiliar and therefore potentially dangerous environment. This chapter examines the attention confined to the terminal period of care, the period from the end of active or curative treatment to the death of the patient. During the terminal period the patient is impelled by conflicting pressures to deny and to accept the true situation. Rochlin claims that no man can fully accept the reality of his own death and that all apparent acceptances are a defence. In an important sense the dying patient is in a similar situation to the young child when faced with a new, unfamiliar and therefore potentially dangerous situation.
