RESPONDING TO THREATS TO INTEGRITY OF SELF

Current theories of illness focus either on the illness experience or on the response to recovery from particular diseases. When the focus i s on the individual, rather than the cause, it is evident that these e xperiences may be combined to develop a comprehensive theory that inco rporates the individual's responses to acute or chronic illness or to injury. Extending primarily from the Illness Constellation Model and P reserving Self, a five-stage model, Responding to Threats to Integrity of the Self, was developed. The theory focuses on the individual (and to a lesser degree on the individual's family) and how the individual seeks self-comforting strategies to mediate the experience. The theor y is one of recovery and rehabilitation, is comprehensive, and may be used for understanding and supporting patient responses.