Counseling the patient with chronic illness: strategies for the health care provider.

The process of assisting a patient with chronic illness starts with understanding chronicity from the patient's perspective and its effect on the health care relationship. By learning the impact that chronic illness has on the individual and recognizing the factors involved with adapting to chronic illness, the health care provider can hope to reach this understanding. An appreciation of the coping strategies commonly used by patients with chronic illnesses helps in selecting the appropriate counseling methods to foster psychological health. Specific strategies, such as reciprocal trust, Rational-Emotive Therapy, and the "School of Bravery" approach, and spiritual care are discussed.