These ideas throw light on a wide range of life change events and have proved useful to people faced with bereavement, physical disabilities, dying, disasters and even terrorist attacks. In recent years he has supported humanitarian efforts in countries including Rwanda, India and Japan. Parkes’ career has spanned several decades and touched countless lives. In The Price of Love, Parkes presents papers which span the full extent of his career, covering and linking together our understanding of the five major areas of his work:
- Love and grief;
- Crisis, trauma and transition;
- Death and dying;
- Disasters;
- War and terrorism: breaking the cycle.
The papers included here have been carefully selected and annotated to show how Parkes’ thinking has developed during a career as researcher, practitioner and educator. In each section of the book psychological and social causes are paired with consequences and interventions (both preventive and therapeutic) and explored from Western and cross-cultural perspectives, all with Parkes’ customary clarity and compassion.
This unique collection of papers will prove invaluable to psychologists, psychiatrists, palliative care staff, counsellors and students, as well as those studying international conflict and working with the bereaved.
Colin Murray Parkes, OBE, MD, FRCPsych, DL, is a psychiatrist, researcher and clinician who has pioneered development of psychological support for families facing the death of a family member. His recent work has focussed on traumatic bereavements with special reference to violent deaths, armed conflict and the cycle of violence. He is the author and editor of six previous books, including most recently Responses to Terrorism (Routledge, 2014).