Community health nursing i: | Nursing homework help
The goal of a life review is to reflect on and make sense of the events that have shaped one’s life, with the purpose of gaining deeper understanding and insight. It is believed to bring about healing, closure, and increased self-understanding. Practitioners may use a variety of methods such as interviews or guided questions in order to help the reviewee look back on their lives and consider how they got where they are now.
Life review also provides an opportunity for growth by helping us better understand our past choices, mistakes, motivations and regrets as well as successes. In doing so we can learn from our experiences and gain a greater appreciation for who we are today. This process can also allow us to recognize patterns in our behavior which may lead to healthier behaviors in the future.
Life review is similar to ordinary remembering in that it involves recalling memories; however, it differs in its focus on understanding why those memories have been important through reflecting on them more deeply than simply recounting what happened. Additionally, life reviews typically occur when there has been some external prompting or structure given by another person (e.g., a therapist) instead of just reminiscing without guidance like most people would do during ordinary remembering activities like looking at old photo albums or telling stories with family members.