Communicating sensitively with bereaved families

Communication skills Death of a child Death of a parent or caregiver Disenfranchised grief Reflective skills

When a patient dies, we may struggle to find the right words. Unfortunately, there is no singular 'right thing' to say or do when working with bereaved families because grief is so individual. Rather than providing a script, here we provide some tenets to keep in mind and sample phrases that will guide you in communicating sensitively with bereaved families. Sensitive communication is more likely to help families move through a healthy grief process.