This textbook on palliative social work is a companion volume to the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine and the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Nursing. To that end, this chapter will accomplish the following:

♦Chronic illness can interfere with development in children and adolescents.

♦Creative arts therapy and social work utilize a family-systems perspective.

♦Loss, separation, and isolation impact coping.

♦Patterns of family dysfunction may emerge in varying ways during times of crisis.

♦Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential when providing family-centered care.