Training and assistance: a necessary dialogue on the subject of Thanatology

Abstract

This article was written by teachers of school subjects related to thanatology, as a product of their experiences. When speaking of thanatology to students, an opportunity for critical reflection ”“related to bioethics, to a better training and to a better health care- always arises. Students discuss and even report their own anxieties, demythologizing ideas of: death, the process of dying, grief and loss, bringing such processes (again) to the natural situation where they belong in the human life cycle. Different methods are commonly used for this sake, and a special attention to emotional situations that might emerge is necessary to deal with the different degrees of anxiety generated among participants. Support and the necessity of having some time during the class to process the emotions have been identified as important conditions to be assured.