This document discusses different types of suffering. It divides suffering into existential and experiential categories. Existential suffering includes differential, dependent, empathic, terminal, interactional, environmental, sensory, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual suffering. Each type of suffering is defined along with examples of therapeutic approaches. The document provides questions healthcare providers can ask patients to better understand their experience of each type of suffering.

1. Amalina Aminuddin Baki
Presenting
Understanding Suffering

3. A state of severe distress associated
with actual or perceived threat to the
intactness of a person
(Personhood) Eric Cassell 1982

4. Different types of
Suffering

5. Can be further divided into
Existential Experential

6. Existential Suffering Experiential Suffering
Differential Sensory
Dependence Emotional
Empathic Cognitive
Terminal Spiritual
Interactional
Environmental

7. Eg.
Can you tell me a little about the
changes in your life because of
sickness?
How has your rountine changed?
Suffering related to change and loss
Therapeutic approach:
rehabilitation
Differential Suffering

8. DependentSuffering Suffering related to depending on others
Therapeutic approach: mobilitary support
Eg.
How about support from your family?
How do you feel about their care

9. Suffering related to feeling other’s suffering
Therapeutic approach: care of caregiver
Eg.
What are your concerns for your family?
How is your family coping?
Empathic Suffering

10. Terminal Suffering
• Suffering related to terminal
disease
Therapeutic approach: disease
modifying treatment
Eg.
• What are your concerns regarding
your sickness?
• How about your treatment?
• What are your concern about the
future?

11. Interactional Suffering
• Suffering related to interaction
with healthcare staff
• Therapeutic approach:
communication training of
medical staff
Eg.
• How are the staff taking care
of you?
• Do you have any problems
with our staff?

12. Suffering related to hospital stays
Therapeutic approach:
patient centered hospital design
Eg.
How do you find the hospital
environment?
How is the food and facilities?
Environmental Suffering

13. Suffering related to physical
symptoms
Therapeutic approach: symptom
control
Eg.
How has your symptoms affected you?
What are your concerns about your
symptoms?
Sensory Suffering

14. Emotional Suffering
Suffering related to
emotions
Therapeutic approach:
emotional processing,
supportive therapy
Eg.
Tell me a little about
your mood when you go
through sickness?
How are you affected by
your emotions?

15. Suffering related to thinking
Therapeutic approach: cognitive behavior therapy
Eg.
What are your hopes and expectation?
How do you come to term with your sickness?
Cognitive Suffering

16. Suffering related to unmet spiritual needs
Therapeutic approach: spiritual support
Eg.
How has your faith affected by your
sickness?
What support do you look for when life is
difficult?
Spiritual Suffering

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