ABSTRACT
MENTAL HEALTH AND PALLIATIVE CARE ETHICS: TWO WORLDS Th is groundbreaking volume represents a pioneering eff ort to synchronise the orbits of two worlds of theory and practice that have oft en proceeded on isolated, even at times antagonistic, trajectories: mental health and palliative care. As a mental health ethicist consulting in a large hospital with an aging population with multiple medical and mental health comorbidities, I have personally encountered the clash of these two worlds … and how poorly their discord serves individuals, families and professionals. Bioethics is for me, and I believe for many of you, our fellow professionals from both worlds, a means of closing the divide between our respective universes. In this chapter, I endeavour to present some case-based best practice strategies from palliative care and humanistic ethics that can enable mental health and palliative care professionals to travel beyond their own traditions and training. However, fi rst we must understand some of the conceptual gaps in ethical assumptions that separate us, outlined in Table 3.1.
