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An estimated one in six children in the United States suffers from a mental disorder, including mood, anxiety, or behavioral disorders. This rate is even higher in children with chronic medical illness. This manuscript provides a concise review of the symptoms that comprise mental conditions often observed in children with chronic illness or at the end of life. It further provides some guidance to help clinicians distinguish normative from pathological presentations. Evidence-based psychotherapy interventions, potentially applicable to the acute inpatient setting, are briefly summarized. Broad recommendations are made regarding both psychotherapeutic as well as pharmacotherapeutic interventions, with a review of common or serious medication side effects. Finally, delirium recognition and management are summarized.

Grief support changes as more is learned from current grief theory and research. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of current grief support as it relates to Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC). The following aspects of grief are addressed: (1) anticipatory grief: the nondeath losses that occur with a complex and chronic illness, as well as the time leading up to death; (2) grief around the time of death: the intense and sacred experience of companioning with a dying child; (3) grief after death: supporting bereavement and mourning through programing and other methods; (4) innovative approaches: the future of grief support. The contents of this article are meant to support and educate programs currently providing grief services and those aiming to begin the meaningful work of grief support.