Who – or what – people engage for supportive conversations is rapidly evolving as technology becomes more sophisticated and users adapt their expectations and perceptions of communication. Empathy is central to understanding and responding to emotions along with communicating sensitive supportive messages. Questions surrounding the role of empathy when communicating with artificial intelligence, however, have yielded mixed and interesting conclusions. This chapter discusses perspectives on empathy, supportive communication, and the influence of machine agents in the process of communicating sensitive, empathic messages. We consider whether machine agents can simulate empathy and convey sensitive support or merely produce reactive content that might simply appear empathic. This chapter offers insights into the relationship between empathy and supportive interactions with artificial intelligence.

We must consider how care in the NICU is delivered to improve outcomes for infants and their families. Cultures and practices that support brain maturation, aim to prevent injury, aid in recovery, support the role of the family, and optimize the environment are referred to as developmental, neuroprotective, or neuropromotive care models and are important strategies to optimize the neurodevelopment of vulnerable infants. Neurosupportive care and its full impact on the developing brain has been hard to define due to the range of approaches and confounding factors; therefore, it has been underfunded and underexplored. We review what is known, but there is urgent need for broader recognition of and investment into the many opportunities to improve our care models. We discuss evidence-based care practices that have been shown to impact developmental outcomes, including use of specific care contexts and cultures, a focus on partnerships with families, use of a multidisciplinary team, reduction of pain and stress, and enhancing the sensory environment. Paradigms that adopt an “All Care is Brain Care” approach, center families’ engagement and experience, and employ intentional brain-focused strategies to protect and promote brain development can create a neuroprotective care culture.

This chapter describes new analysis we conducted to address the question about how money and love matters for children’s development. Because children also have a say in their own development, we also include in our analysis, their contribution via key child characteristics. Most of the literature reviewed for this book addresses either the money story OR the love story (mostly mothers), but rarely, if ever, includes the entire family system. We find empirical support that both – love and money – matters as well as children’s early skills and lay out implications of these findings for research, policy, and programs.

Organisational culture directly affects the implementation of welfare practices, the effectiveness of communication among staff, and the overall morale within the team. It discusses the importance of a positive, inclusive, and supportive workplace environment that fosters both human and animal well-being. Furthermore, the chapter highlights the challenges and strategies involved in cultivating a culture that upholds high standards of animal care, promotes continuous learning, and encourages ethical behaviour among all staff members. It also examines the impact of leadership styles on the health of the organisational culture and its subsequent effect on animal welfare. This comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights for anyone involved in the management or operation of animal care facilities, offering practical advice on how to enhance organisational culture to better serve both the animals and the people who care for them.

Pregnancy loss (PL) is a common complication in early pregnancy, occurring in ~25% of recognized pregnancies. Standard medical care after PL traditionally focuses on emptying of the fetus from the uterus. Historically the emotional impact of PL has been overlooked. However, research shows that PL has a negative psychological impact on women’s and their partner’s well-being, and that patients wish for post-PL care that attends to their emotional and psychological needs as well. This chapter summarizes the latest research on the psychological impact of PL, patient preferences for medical and supportive care after PL and in a new pregnancy and provides recommendations for care. Psychological impact and support after ectopic pregnancies and late pregnancy losses > 24 weeks are not specifically addressed in this chapter. Health care staff providing care to those with PL should be educated about the psychological impact of PL including that a first PL can cause emotional distress for both partners and that the psychological burden can increase with multiple losses. Informing patients that their emotional reactions to the PL are normal and to be expected without diminishing their impact is crucial. Information provision and empathic and sensitive communication is valued by patients and their partners. Structural changes are also needed to facilitate continuity in care and follow-up in order to promote overall well-being after PL.

This chapter is a case study that describes the experience of establishing a peer support programme in a critical care unit in an NHS hospital in the UK. The case study is set within a description of what peer support is and ideas about the underpinning principles for a peer support programme.

One of the most effective resilience factors is all around us - the people in our lives. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the world into lockdown, we found creative ways to reach out to one another. We describe the “tap code,” an ingenious way that Vietnam War POWs, often kept in isolation, supported each other and share informational vital for their mutual survival. We summarize research showing that social support can lower the risk of developing depression and postraumatic stress disorder; and that its opposite, feelings of loneliness, increases one's risk of developing a range of different illnesses. In our busy lives, building and keeping up our social support network takes effort, but it is an essential lifeline.

This chapter presents a case for actively involving children and young people in the experience of parental cancer, facilitating, and encouraging open and honest communication and age-appropriate provision of information. The voices of children and young people should be listened to and carefully considered. More child friendly spaces are needed. Healthcare practitioners play a crucial role involving children and young people, inviting their questions, getting to know and understand their individual needs and how to respond appropriately to them. Families can benefit from emotional, and family support early in the cancer diagnosis to prevent long term negative effects or issues in the future.

This chapter provides the conclusion to the book, summarizing the findings and main points of each chapter. It also outlines the contribution the book makes to an understanding of the characteristics of dyslexic university student anxiety and an identification of ways of coping that students with dyslexia employ to deal with the cognitive and emotional difficulties manifested by their dyslexia. Implications of this for dyslexia practitioners, for universities and for academics responsible for teaching and delivery of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are specified. In relation to the dyslexia practitioner, the chapter provides pragmatic advice on ways of using appropriate support styles that combine targeted emotional support with delivery and development of suitable cognitive techniques. Guidance is also provided on ways that emotional support could be utilised during individual sessions with students to encourage open discussions on academic areas where the student may feel vulnerable and sensitive emotionally. For universities, practical suggestions are made on ways of ensuring that the academic environment fosters an inclusive culture to establish a suitable, supportive and inspiring place of learning for students with dyslexia where they feel secure and encouraged to discuss any emotional difficulties they may be susceptible to.

Some adverse medication events will occur, including some that were preventable. These events may have serious consequences for the practitioners and it seems sensible to provide support for these clinicians. The term “second victim” has been used, but its use tends to absolve the clinician of any responsibility and equates the suffering of the clinician who erred with the suffering of the patient and their loved ones. An appropriate response to avoidable harm should include emotional support for the clinician. While some programs exist, very few institutions currently provide this type of support. An institutional willingness to relieve staff from clinical duties when the emotional response to an adverse event might create an ongoing risk to patients is also important. Support needs to be offered within a just culture whose ultimate goal is to improve patient safety: practitioners should be expected to engage actively. There is potential restorative and therapeutic value of learning from adverse events and continuously improving medication safety. It may be that we do need some resilience to the “heat of the kitchen”, but it is also important to keep that heat as low as possible. Reducing the likelihood of harm to patients is the best support that can be provided.